Hero
by xeikm
Summary: After nearly dying to save Kurt, Sam is brought back to life with superpowers. But with great power comes great responsibiliy that leads Sam onto a journey to be a hero for a city, friends, family, and the boy he loves. Hevans. Super hero fantasy.
1. First Day & Last Breath

**Author's Note: **Welcome one and all to my Glee fic! Haha. I am so excited about writing this story, mostly because I'm a major Kum fan! I still believe that Kurt and Sam were made for each other and I try to ignore the existence of Blaine as much as possible. Love Darren, but hate Blaine. Anyways! Haha. This story was brought on by Spiderman so if you see things from the movie or cartoons then you know who to blame. This story will be about Sam moving to New York and growing up with Kurt as his neighbor. Sam will eventually develop superpowers that lead to him saving the city and the world! This will feature man-on-man relations as the main pairing with plenty of violence, sexual content, adult language, and suggestive themes. If you can't handle that then turn around now before you see anything you don't like. That's all that must be said, now read and review!

**Disclaimer: **Haven't written one of these in a while, but I do not own the characters. This is a product of a fan's twisted imagination. **  
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**First Day & Last Breath: **

(Sam)

It was hard to be taken from the life you knew at such a young age. At ten year's old, Samuel Evans lost two of the most important people in his life. Only two weeks ago, he lived in a complete household: he had a mom, a dad, a younger sister, and a younger brother. Their house was big and they had a massive backyard where Sam would always run around with his younger siblings. They had the perfect life back in Memphis, but all that was taken from him in a single night.

The pain in Sam's chest would never go away, not after knowing that his father and little sister were no longer part of this world. He tried to stay strong; he wanted to keep himself together, at least for his mom and brother. It was so hard though to keep himself composed without his father and Stacy were gone.

His father was just picking Stacy up from ballet practice then they'd be in time home for dinner. When twenty minutes passed and there was no sign of them, Sheila Evans started to worry for the safety of her husband and daughter. She tried to get hold of Stan's cell phone, but the signal was always busy everytime she called. Sam and Stevie figured that their dad just got lost on the way back like he normally did, considering his horrible sense of directions.

But Stan Evans didn't get lost; instead, he had gotten into a car accident just five minutes away from their house. Another driver blew a red light, despite the light being red for over a minute. The driver didn't care though, at least until he ended up crashing into the car being steered by Stan Evans who was trying to get his daughter, Stacy, home. The father and daughter were killed in an instant, neither one suffering from the cruel hands of Death.

It was those who they left behind who suffered the most, forcing Sheila to relocate her sons after the burial of her father and daughter. Sheila couldn't afford the house on her salary and the life insurance she had on her husband wasn't enough either. There was no other choice but to take her sons away to the only family they had who could help them.

Packing up what they could fit into the truck, Sheila took her sons to Brooklyn to move in with her brother-in-law. Her late husband's younger brother had already offered up the childhood home he inherited from their parents to the grieving family. Samuel Evans was a good man and a good cop; he knew that he had to look out for his husband's wife and their sons. Besides, Samuel loved his nephew with all his heart and treated them like his own sons. He didn't want them to suffer more then they already had.

Sam stared out the window, looking at the tall buildings that loomed in the horizon. They were crossing a bridge that would lead them towards their new home and from that point; Sam could spot the Statue of Liberty. She was like his beacon of hope in these horrid times that filled his heart with so much grief.

Brushing aside a stray tear, Sam forced himself to stay together for his family's sake.

"How much longer until we're at Uncle Sam's place?" asked young Sam.

Sheila Evans smiled, hearing the slightly hopeful tone in her oldest son's voice. She knew that little Sammy was trying to be a big man for her and it hurt a little to see him act like that, but also comforting. "About twenty minutes," said Sheila. "If traffic isn't too bad then we'll hopefully be in our new home in ten." She looked over to her younger son and briefly noticed how pitiful he looked at the moment.

Steven Evans was barely paying attention as he held onto his Gameboy, staring at the blank screen since the batteries had died about thirty minutes before. The now youngest of the Evans' family was hardly in better shape. He was only seven, but he understood everything that was going on in this picture. His daddy and big sister were gone, leaving him with only his mommy and big brother.

The dirty blond headed boy tried not to cry, but his green eyes would always tear up no matter how hard he tried.

With Sheila too busy fighting New York traffic, it was up to Sam to keep his brother together. Brushing his own blond bangs aside, Sam started to sit a little closer to his brother in the back seat of the truck. He wrapped both his arms around him, using the blanket that they had in the back to throw over them both.

"It's okay, Stevie," whispered Sam. "Everything will be fine. We can make this work."

"I want my daddy back," Stevie cried, softly. "I miss him. I miss Stacy."

"I know, buddy," Sam said, holding him closer. There wasn't much to Sam either since he was pretty much just skin and bones. Granted, his age meant he was closer to puberty where he'd eventually develop a lot more. For now though, he was still just a little boy. He was a little boy who missed his dad and sister. "I miss them too. At least you still got us though, and we have Uncle Sam."

Stevie tried to keep strong, but the little boy continued to weep despite Sam's constant support.

This went on until they pulled into the curb of their new home on Jefferson Street.

Sheila stepped out of the car, forcing herself to hold in her own tears to brace herself for today. It would take a lot for the dark-blonde haired woman to survive through. Her blue eyes would witness a lot of pain, almost as much as when she had to identify the bodies of her husband and little girl. But the thirty year old woman had to stay strong, she had to keep herself composed for her sons.

Sam and Stevie were all that mattered, she had to keep on going for them.

When the front door to the Victorian-esque house in a slightly older neighborhood opened up, the Evans were greeted with a familiar face. Stepping outside was a man with a muscular physique and dark-brown hair. He had features similar to his deceased brother which included strong cheekbones, sun-tanned skin, and piercing green eyes. It didn't hurt that he could also a good amount of facial hair.

Dressed still in uniform, Samuel walked past the front lawn to greet his new housemates. He briefly hugged Sheila who thanked him for opening his home to them. "You don't even mention it," Samuel told her. "You're my brother's wife and the mother of my nephews, I will do anything for you guys.

"Thank you, Samuel," Sheila said, forcing herself not to cry. She moved herself away from her bother-in-law just as her sons started to get out of the truck. Sam was the first to step outside with Stevie following behind with his bag of toys. "Boys, say hi to your uncle."

"Hey Uncle Sam," said his older nephew.

"Hey, Mini Me," laughed his Uncle Sam. He didn't have to crouch down much since Sam had grown a few more inches since the last time that they saw each other. Samuel took notice of this by how Sam's jeans appeared a bit shorter than normal. He didn't say anything though as he hugged his oldest nephew before looking over to the little one.

Samuel got down to one knee, holding his arms out to the little one. At that point, Stevie started to ball with tears and snot running all over the place as he threw himself into his uncle's arms. It didn't help when one considered how much Samuel looked like their father, but it was also comforting during these heartbreaking times.

Samuel didn't mind though as he carried the crying boy up into his arms. He kissed his nephew's forehead, trying to calm him down a bit, but that wouldn't do much good. "I'm sure you are all tired," Samuel said, over Stevie's tears. "I'll show you to your rooms then I'll get your stuff from the truck."

There wasn't any argument over that as Samuel carried Stevie and led Sheila inside. Sam, on the other hand, remained outside as he took in his new surroundings.

As far as Sam could see there was hardly any green in sight. All he could see was a bunch of tall buildings and a several houses that seemed to go on forever. The patch of lawn at the front of everyone's houses was about as green as it got with the occasional tree scattered about.

Then Sam looked at his new home, seeing the red-paneled house that his father and uncle grew up in with their parents and sisters. His grandparents passed away when he was only five so he didn't really remember much about it. His Aunts (Julia, Elena, and Kelly) were all scattered about around the East Coast. They couldn't do much to help them, but they were able to gather some extra cash to help fund the move and give the small family a chance to start something up.

He wasn't sure how he'd like this move, but it was something he would have to get used to. It wasn't like he had any other choice out there.

"Welcome to the neighborhood!" said a bright, cheerful voice.

Sam was startled from hearing this unexpected voice. He looked off to his side to see another little boy standing on the lawn next door to him. Sam felt a bit self-conscious as he fixed his flannel sweater, while watching this very stylish, cherub faced boy.

The strange boy took a step closer to Sam with a kind smile on his face. He was dressed oddly for a boy his age, but looked good in the slacks and suspenders he wore over his shirt. His light-brown hair waved nicely against the gentle breeze that blew in, while Sam's hair threatened to become a mess. Not to mention, this boy's eyes were a stunning combination of blue, green, and gray.

"I'm Kurt Elizabeth Hummel," said the little boy, "and you are?"

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

He had been outside when a strange truck pulled up with Tennessee plates. He thought the truck was cute in a country sense, but was tragically out of place in a city. He abandoned the Power Rangers he had brought outside to watch who these strangers were that were going to Mr. Sam's house.

He felt like it was his obligation to know every person who came in and out of this neighborhood.

A family of three came out of the truck. Kurt didn't hear everything that was said, but he knew that they knew Mr. Sam by the way they greeted each other. When the smallest boy started crying, Kurt realized that something must've happened to make them come over there.

Kurt watched as most of them went inside, while the older boy stayed behind. His curiosity got the better of him so he started to run away from the patio and made his way towards his neighbor's house.

When their eyes met, the stylish, little boy thought that this new kid was kind of cute. Kurt felt that this boy had this sweet, southern boy type vibe, which Kurt responded with an unusual amount of openness. Kurt was normally such a guarded boy due to the way the other boys at school treated him for not being "normal" like them.

His dad would always stand up for him though, telling Kurt that those boys were being jerks.

"Is your name really Elizabeth?" was the first thing out of this boy.

And here Kurt's hopes at meeting someone special were dashed. He tried not to show the obvious disappointment by that, but just smiled his way through. "No, it's not, but I think it sounds better then Mikhail," said Kurt.

The blond-headed, southern boy started to nod his head. "Yeah, I think Elizabeth sounds better too," he said, now smiling. This renewed Kurt's hopes in this total stranger. "I'm Samuel Kyle Evans, but you can stick with calling me Sam."

"You have the same name as Mr. Sam," Kurt said, surprised.

"He's my uncle, I was named after him," said Sam. "My…my dad wanted to name to be Sam."

Kurt noticed the obvious weakness in the boy's voice. It sounded like there was a lot of pain behind that, something Kurt was very much familiar with. As rude as it probably was to do this, it was something that Kurt felt like he could help with.

"You lost your dad, didn't you?" asked Kurt.

Sam slowly began to nod his head, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Car accident," he said, softly. "I lost him and my little sister, Stacy."

Well, Kurt was expecting to hear that last part. He placed a hand over his chest and took notice of how Sam wiped away a stray tear. "I'm so sorry," Kurt said, placing a hand on Sam's shoulder. He wasn't sure how far Sam's boundaries went, but he could at least be somewhat supportive. "I lost my mom too, about five years ago. She got really sick for a while."

"Oh," Sam said, holding back his own tears. Now, losing his dad and sister didn't feel as bad. At least he knew that they didn't suffer, unlike Kurt's mom. "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," Kurt said, sadly. "I adjusted." He looked over to see Mr. Sam unloading some of the stuff from the truck then went back to the young Sam. "Do you want to play with me? I have some Power Rangers that we can play with."

"I love Power Rangers," Sam said with a geeky smile. "Which ones do you have? Do you have the White Ranger?"

Kurt nodded his head. "All the Mighty Morphin ones," he said like a little dork. "You can be the White Ranger and I can be the Pink Ranger."

"You sure you don't want to bed Red?" Sam asked, sounding surprised by the boy for wanting to be Pink.

"I like Pink better," Kurt confessed, fearing the outcome.

"Alright," Sam said, in total agreement. "I think Pink is cooler anyways too."

So Kurt couldn't help but to smile as he took Sam's hand and led him to his house with the start of a new friendship blossoming.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

The years that followed Sam moving to New York required that the boy got to some serious adjusting. The schools were different, the people were different, and the entire environment was completely different from what he was used to. Still, at sixteen, Sam felt like he had almost gotten used to life in the big city.

He made a few friends, he excelled on the football field, he had a body to die for, and he also had a gift for vocals. It wasn't enough for Sam though as he thought about the one thing he truly wanted but could never have. Well, maybe never was too harsh of a word.

When Sam got up that morning, he quickly got dressed for his first day of school. Sam got a major transfer from public to private school over in Manhattan. Lucky for him, he qualified for a full scholarship due to his stellar test scores and extracurriculars. He was excited and nervous about going to this school since it was the same school that one Kurt Hummel attended.

Sam pulled the blinds to his bedroom opened where he caught a glimpse of Kurt frantically running around in his room. The fashionista's room was on the second floor, while Sam's was on the first floor. Still, being next door neighbors made it easy for Sam to catch glimpses of Kurt whenever he wanted.

If only he could tell Kurt how much he loved him, but that was impossible. It wasn't so much that their families wouldn't approve, Sam's mom and uncle were fully supportive of the LGBT community and Kurt's dad was part of PFLAG. And it was remarkable too to think about how different Kurt was from his dad. Burt was big and masculine, while Kurt was far more delicate and gentler. Anyways, back to Sam's dilemma. This had more to do with Sam being too afraid to confess these feelings to Kurt because he feared the rejection.

Even after all these years of being close friends, Sam still felt like the scared little boy whenever he was around Kurt.

Sam shrugged his way into a gray long-sleeve that Kurt helped him pick out during the back to school shopping adventure. The whole reason they went together was because Kurt knew how to pick out the outfits and Sam had a high tolerance for torture. It was something that save Burt Hummel a lot of grief, he didn't have to go shopping with his son and he didn't have to worry about the boy's safety with Sam around.

Once he was fully dressed, wearing a pair of nice pants, Sam made his way out of his geek sanctuary. Even though he didn't look the part, Sam was an avid nerd despite the whole athletic and musical gifts from God. He could speak Nav'i, he could do a mean Darth Vader impersonation, and he had seen almost every episode of every anime out there. It still baffled everyone how Sam could be such a geek yet popular at the same time.

When Sam made it upstairs, he found his brother and mom in the kitchen with breakfast. Uncle Sam had already taken off for work, which meant it was just a nice meal for the family.

Dangerously getting close to forty, Sheila Evans made a lot of effort to continue looking well put together. It didn't hurt that her oldest son was best friends with a gay kid. She loved the little, home spa treatments that Kurt would treat her too, which made her feel at least ten years younger afterwards. She also worked on keeping herself in excellent shape, not to snag a new man, but to ensure that she could be around for her boys for a long time.

Stevie was the night to Sam's day. Stevie was only thirteen, but he already had a dim outlook on life. He never quite recovered from losing their dad and sister almost seven years ago. He dressed very plainly with a lot of dark colors. He kept silent and stayed very much locked away into his shell. It would take a lot of prying from Sam to even get Stevie close to break free and step into the light every once in a while.

Sam sat down between his mom and brother with a bowl of oatmeal ready for him. He took a spoonful into his mouth and was immediately greeted by a burst of cinnamon. "It's delicious, mom," Sam told her. "You really out did yourself this time."

"Thanks, but I didn't make it," said his mother. She lifted up her coffee to finish it off, while her bowl was empty. She made a quick gesture to Sam with her eyes, showing off who the real cook of this meal was.

Sam turned his head towards Stevie who remained silent as usual. A grin formed on Sam's face as he patted his little brother's back. "You made this, Stevie?" Sam said, cheerfully. "Wow, kid. I didn't know you had the gift to cook. Maybe you should start making all the meals now instead of mom."

"Are you insulting my cooking!" snapped his mother.

"No ma'am," Sam said, immediately returning to his food.

For once, a smile took form on Stevie's lips as he thanked Sam for the compliment before finishing off his orange juice. Stevie excused himself from the table then went upstairs to his bedroom to finish getting ready.

Sam finished his food in the few minutes he had left before he needed to catch the bus. He kissed his mom goodbye, waved Stevie off as he headed for his bus too, and grabbed his backpack to get his ass outside.

The minute that Sam entered the cool, New York air, he took notice of Kurt running out of his home as well. Kurt's hair was brushed back as usual in a way that Sam thought made him look too girlish. It emasculated the bits of mannishness that Kurt had, making him look all the more like a fragile, porcelain doll.

Kurt still looked amazing though with the way that his cheekbones and dimples made his face look. His hair looked so rich and perfect that you just wanted to run your fingers through it. Not to mention, he looked amazing in the shirt and vest combination he had going with a pair of slacks and suspenders. He looked very sharp as he approached the car that was parked on the curb.

Stepping out, a tall, husky young man emerged that looked the complete opposite of Kurt. For starters, he was tall and husky, but did appear strong because of those two advantages. His face was a little rough around the edges and his dark hair was cut very short. He dressed rather plainly too with only the letterman jacket serving as a bit of distinction.

Dave bent down a bit to kiss Kurt's cheek with a light smile gracing the boy's face. Kurt went inside his boyfriend's car and soon they both took off for school.

Sam stood there, trying not to look like he was obviously watching them. The pain in his chest and the look of disappointment on his face though was a different story though. He could only shake his head though as he tried not to judge Dave too cruelly for being with Kurt. He hated that jerk Dave with a passion, but Kurt liked him so he couldn't overstep his bounds.

Still though, Sam wished it was him that got to kiss Kurt every morning.

* * *

><p>The bus took Sam to where he'd spend the next two years of his school life. He looked out the window and saw the magnificent Academy of the City. The school took in students from sixth grade up to twelfth grade, granted the cut-off to be admitted was eleventh grade which meant Sam got in barely.<p>

Sam stepped out of the bus and soon found himself lost in the crowd of students. He tried to make his way towards the main building to find his locker before hunting down his homeroom, which was difficult to do considering the situation. He bumped into plenty of students and a few faculty members, who he called quickly apologized to due to his southern upbringing. The whole southern gentleman thing was still a shocker to most people, considering this was New York City. Politeness wasn't exactly something that was common amongst the city and its burrows full of millions.

That didn't mean that Sam forgot where he came from and who he was.

Eventually, the blond made it to his locker which was not too far from the boys' restroom either. It wasn't so that he could check out guys while they used the restroom, that was a fetish that he never understood. He felt that it was a total plus since that meant a quick trip to pee was possible during the six minutes he had before class.

Sam stuffed his bag in there and retrieved a notebook and a binder to start the day with. It was only the first day of class so he didn't exactly need much. All Sam really needed to do was bring his butt to class and get the syllabus from each teacher. They'd hand over the books and he would just need whatever supplies were necessary to survive. From what Sam found out during his orientation, he wouldn't need much besides pens, pencils, papers, and a binder to whole everything.

Right when Sam was going to work on finding his homeroom with Schuester, he was attacked by a short, brown haired girl. She was dressed in a way that would make Kurt cry in horror, something that Sam could understand why. The awful dress looked like something a three year old would wear, thankfully she covered up part of it with a sweater. Her long hair was also a bit of a distraction with most of the focus going to her face.

"Hello, I noticed that you're new to A of C, and I just wanted to welcome you," said the young woman.

"How did you know that?" asked Sam.

"It's my job to know these things." The girl practically threw herself at Sam, not in a sexual way just a hyper aggressive way. She pressed a flyer against him, forcing the boy to take it or else there would be serious consequences. "Anyways, I'm Rachel Berry. I'm president of the school's Glee Club, which you should consider joining. I'm, naturally, the star of the club, but we needed plenty of people standing in the background, singing my backup."

Sam had pretty much tuned everything that Rachel had to say once he learned her name. It ran straight through the database in Sam's mind until it made a match. "Oh, so your Rachel," Sam said, stuff the flyer into his binder. "Yeah, Kurt told me all about you."

"You know Kurt?" Rachel asked, suddenly very excited. "He's such a sweet heart. A little annoying at times, but I know he means well."

Sam wanted to say the same thing about her, but his upbringing told him to be polite. "I'm Sam. I've lived next door to Kurt for a few years now," he told her. "He told me about Glee. I don't know if I can join right away though, I kind of need to get used to the coursework and figure out how to make football work first."

"Of course," said Rachel. "Well, you should come to a meeting sometime. We totally allow open auditions at anytime of the year."

"Thanks," Sam said. "Maybe I'll see you around sometime. Bye."

"Bye Sam," Rachel said, already on the move to her next victim.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

Not much had changed in Kurt's life since he met Sam almost seven years ago. Granted, he did actually have a friend who was a guy and Sam always stood up for him back when they went to elementary school together. When Kurt transferred to the Academy though, a new world was opened up to him which started by joining the school's Glee Club, the New Directions.

He gave an amazing audition with Mr. Cellophane and was accepted in a heartbeat.

Since then, Kurt has met plenty of amazing people along the way, while keeping a close friendship with Sam. As kids, they were always going to each other's houses. They also spent the night plenty of times, the cooler parties being at Kurt's house as Sam would say.

Now though, Kurt was on the verge of having a new family with the addition to actually dating someone. Kurt had known for years that there was something different about him until he learned what gay was. Kurt accepted himself for being gay, but found it difficult to get others to feel the same way with the exception of his dad and Sam. And now, Kurt's dad was going to get remarried to the mom of a fellow Glee Club member, Finn Hudson.

Finn's mom, Carol, was the sweetest woman there was. She almost reminded him of his late mother, which hurt Kurt back in the beginning to think about. Now though, Kurt had come to terms with this, knowing that nobody could ever replace his mom, but him and his dad deserve to open their hearts to someone else. Carol and Finn were more than welcome to be in their family, which led to the big move-in this summer before their wedding later in the fall.

Kurt also had some bragging rights for snagging himself a boyfriend. Granted, Dave didn't look like Taylor Lautner, but he treated him good and that's all that mattered. Most people were shocked by Kurt's choice in first boyfriend. Dave Karofsky didn't exactly seem like the right first choice, but he made Kurt happy which everyone got used to once they began to date last school year.

There were still lots of adjustments to be made, but Kurt felt like he was doing a good job about it.

Now that his long school day was over, Kurt made his way towards the choir room for the first Glee meeting of the new school year. He was well aware that half the guys wouldn't be present due to them being in football, but at least his girls would be there. He was half-hoping to find Sam in the choir room, but he knew that Sam needed to get to playing football to help keep his scholarship.

Kurt managed to briefly catch a glimpse of Sam walking down the hall, in the opposite direction, to the locker rooms. Kurt got to wave to him briefly, which was returned by the southern boy. It was weird to think how close his friendship was with Sam, considering that Sam was straight, but Kurt took this as a bit of a miracle. At least not all straight guys were close-minded, jerks, or intolerant about those who were the slightest bit different.

When Kurt entered the choir room, he was immediately greeted by a massive hug from his best girlfriend. Even though he'd already seen her five times today, Mercedes Jones couldn't help but to do it everytime she saw the boy. His plus-sized, gorgeous, fellow Diva eventually released him from the hug and soon they walked arm-in-arm towards a pair of seats.

"And what do we have planned for this year?" Mercedes asked. "You already got yourself a boyfriend, what left is there to do for Kurt Hummel?"

"Take over the entire world!" Kurt laughed, villainously.

Mercedes started to laugh as well, mostly because White Boy was such a dork.

Their laughter ceased though when the insane Rachel Berry came inside with Mr. Schu leading the way. The poor direction/Spanish teacher already appeared to be having a headache, not because of the day, but because of Rachel demanding more solos. Even his suit was wrinkling up from Rachel's constant nagging.

Kurt, Mercedes, Quinn, Brittany, Santana, and Tina both looked rather annoyed by Rachel's latest attempts at taking over glee.

"Just let me cut her, Mr. Schu," Santana said, filling her nails. The spicy Latina held up her nail filer, pointing it straight at Rachel's face with a dark glare escaping the cheerleader. "I'll go Lima Heights all over that ugly face of hers."

"Easy, Santana, you don't want to get threatened with another lawsuit," Quinn said, pulling her fellow cheerleader back. Correction, those two and Brittany were part of the Cheerios. It was the same thing as being cheerleaders, but their insane coach, Sue Sylvester, didn't think of it that way. The pretty blonde got her friend to sit down without throwing too much of a fuss.

"Why does the law need a suit?" asked Brittany. "I thought law got to run around naked like those creepy old people on the beach?"

"Anyways!" Mr. Schu announced, demanding everyone's attention. Rachel was forced into sitting down on a chair with the rest of the girls, plus honorary girl Kurt, focusing on him. The clean-shaven man wanted to do something to make glee extra spectacular this year. "We might have made it twelfth place last year, but we need to do better. We really have to step it up a notch too since Jesse graduated. In order to compete, we need at least one more member, but I say that we don't settle for just one. We recruit as many people as we can to make this club as big as possible!"

"I agree!" Rachel said, jumping from her seat. "That is why I went on a major recruiting mission today. I handed out flyers to over a hundred kids that I thought could at least sway around in the background."

Kurt rolled his eyes, already finding himself annoyed by Rachel's obsessive behavior. She took the word Diva to a whole another level. "I also you hassled my neighbor," Kurt told her. "Good job at scaring Sam away. I could've have easily talked him into joining the club."

"I wasn't hassling him!" Rachel said, defending herself.

"Wait, Sam?" Santana said, her curiosity peaked. "You mean that new kid, Sam Evans? Trouty Mouth?"

"Trouty Mouth?" asked Quinn.

"He's got these massive, Angelina Jolie lips," Santana said, feeling that was explanation enough. "I'm already working on writing a song about him."

"Oh God," Tina said, covering her semi-Goth, Asian face. "I have a terrible feeling about this already."

"Just don't sing that song if he decides to join," Mercedes told Santana. "He'll end up quitting on us for sure."

Santana shrugged her shoulders, not really giving a damn or not. She was going to do whatever it was that she wanted with Trouty Mouth.

Kurt had a feeling that he was going to have to keep Sam away from the New Directions no matter the cost.

* * *

><p>With the meeting over and Rachel's latest domination plan derailed, the gleeks were able to leave to go home. Kurt would be rideless for the day since Dave had to take off early to help his dad out with some project. That would mean that Kurt would have to take the bus and subway to get home, something he hated doing but had to just to survive. No way that he was going to walk all the way back to Brooklyn.<p>

So Kurt started up his i-Pod and started to play a little Britney Spears. Despite the Brittney-Brittany debacle from last year, Kurt was still a total fan of the pop culture queen. And as the chorus began to go off at full blast, Kurt soon lost himself to the music as he went into a deep auto-pilot.

Now that his mind was lost to the music, Kurt began to dance and sing along with Brittney. He was so oblivious to everything that was going on that he failed to pay attention to a driver that was speeding like a madman on the empty road. When Kurt began to cross the street, the driver was still driving a full speed despite the red light that he had on him.

The horn began to honk at Kurt, which he didn't hear due to the loud music. The honking continued, but Kurt still couldn't hear him and the driver refused to slow down until it was too late. Kurt finally felt something was wrong as he turned his head to the side, seeing the car that was speed straight towards him.

His entire body froze up as his entire life flashed before his eyes.

The moment ended quickly enough though and Kurt only felt a minor bit of pain. His head pounded against him a bit, but other than that he felt just fine. Kurt thought he had imagined the car or something as he opened his eyes to see he was on the other side of the street.

Kurt got up on his feet and tried to rationalize what just happened when he turned around to see a body on the street. His eyes widened in shock with tears beginning to flow down them as he understood what just happened.

The blood that started to pool around the nearly, unmoving body was proof enough that Kurt owed his life to this person.

When he knelt over the body, Kurt had a horrible scream escape his lips as he recognized this face. His scream was powerful enough to alert the remaining faculty who were still in the building and flooded out to see what the problem was. Kurt cried for someone to call for an ambulance, while holding onto the hand of his hero.

Sam Evans had pushed him away from the car, saving his life, but costing him his.

"Somebody call an ambulance!" Kurt screamed at the top of his lungs. "HELP!" Hot tears started to stream down his face as he kept himself low, seeing no sign of the car that him either before looking down at the bleeding Sam. "Please, no. Sam, please hang on. We'll get you to a hospital. You'll be just fine. Just promise that you'll hang on."

Kurt repeated himself over and over again, begging Sam to fight Death as the sirens finally could be heard.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

Nothing but blinding light was all that Sam's eyes could see. He felt as if he was floating in an endless sea of nothingness, but it was something more than that too. Whatever it was though, Sam just couldn't pick it up as he found himself closing his eyes once more. He submitted himself to the heavy weight of this colorless world, submitting to this unknown fate.

But in the midst of his surrender, Sam felt another presence in this empty world. He forced his eyes to open up once again and look to see the being that appeared beside him. There wasn't much to see since the figure was consumed in light as well, but he swore that he could see a pair of feathery wings.

The light of the being began to dim out until the features of the entity could be made out. The being wore a white gown made out what appeared to be the softest material ever. A pair of big, feather wings were twitching on its backside and a ring of holy, yellow light floated above its head.

In a moment, Sam was able to see the face clearly and found himself in complete shock of this.

"Dad?" Sam whispered, softly.

The being ignored those words because it was not who Sam thought. It continued to stand close to Sam though, bathing him in divine light. "If you close your eyes once more then you shall loss what life you have left," said the angelic being.

The being drew closer to Sam, holding onto the frail figure of the young man. He looked so much like Sam's father that it frightened him to his very core. This could not be the slightest bit possible though since his father was dead.

And then it dawned on Sam, he had pushed Kurt away from a car and took the hit for him.

"I'm dead," Sam said, softly. "I died saving Kurt's life."

"That is why I'm here," said the angelic being. "Your life was not meant to end on this day. Your actions have consequences that allow you a second chance at life. If that is your choice, you may return to the World of the Living."

"What's the price?" Sam asked. He didn't mean to sound rude, but he felt like there was more to this. This being said there were consequences so that meant there had to be a catch. "What do I have to do in order to be brought back?"

The angelic being that looked like his father pulled Sam until he was standing. He placed both hands on his shoulders, staring into this soul that floated on the edge between life and death. "If you wish to go back then you go back as more than human," said the being. "You have a great deal of potential to do a lot of good for this world.

"How though?" asked Sam. "Why me?"

The being touched Sam's chest, filling this soul with something that didn't seem right. Sam felt a slight pain in his being, but that pain was erased in a matter of moments. "You battle the darkness," said the angelic being. "Your virtuous soul will show you the way, Samuel Evans. A remarkable soul like yours must not be allowed to be extinguished so prematurely."

Sam still didn't quite understand what that meant but did not have the chance to ask as this world of nothing began to slip away from his sight.

* * *

><p>The scent of bad medicine and sickness was what waited for him on the other side. The loud beeping of a machine, soft crying, and constant noise in the background was making it difficult for his eyes to stay close. Still though, he tried to fight this return to the conscious, but couldn't stay asleep not even a moment longer.<p>

Sam finally opened his eyes, slowly, so that they may adjust to these new surroundings. He began to slowly move the rest of his body to make sure that he still had control of it until he felt his cramped space. His eyes were fully adjusted now and he was able to process that he was in a hospital room where he felt plenty of wires and tubes hooked into his skin.

"What the hell happened?" he asked himself.

"Sam!" The familiar voice brought pain to Sam's heart as he heard all sorrow behind it. He looked to his side to see Kurt running towards his bedside from the chair he was sitting on. There was a bandage on his forehead, covering the one place he had been injured at due to the rough landing.

Kurt continued to have tears running down his cheeks, however, as he looked at Sam's pitiful state. Sam looked so horrid and weak with all that wires hooked into his skin plus the tubes filling him with fluids. "You big dummy!" Kurt cried, painfully. "Why did you do that? Why did you almost kill yourself to save me?"

"Because…" Sam knew that this could be the moment for him to tell Kurt everything. He could confess his undying love for him and win Kurt's heart forever more. But…it didn't feel right to make Kurt fall in love with him. He wanted Kurt to love him for him, not because he saved his life. "It's because…you're my best friend. I…I couldn't lose you."

Tears still ran down Kurt's face as he leaned over to kiss Sam's forehead. It wasn't the kiss he wanted to have with Kurt, but it was nice nonetheless. Those gentle lips against his skin felt wonderful all the same.

"You are so stupid," Kurt said, through tears. "I owe you my life, Sam. I was so scared, we were all scared. You died twice before they were finally able to stabilize you."

"I'm fine, Kurt," Sam said, his voice going stronger. "It'll take more than a car to kill me."

Kurt tried to find the humor in the poor joke, but he could only keep on crying just as Sam's family showed up. Sheila and Stevie immediately ran to his bedside with Kurt stepping aside as his middle-aged dad showed up from the shop. Burt thanked Sam for saving Kurt's life, promising that they'd make it up to him somehow.

Sam didn't care about that though, he was just happy knowing he saved the life of someone he cared about. For this shining moment, Sam felt like a total hero by saving Kurt's life today, even if it did almost cost his.

And now, Sam only needed to worry about the debt he'd have to repay to that angelic being.

Meanwhile, a dark shadow lingered around the hospital room, listening to everything that was said before disappearing into the city.


	2. What Am I?

**Author's Note: **Thank you everyone for the support that you've given me so far. It makes me smile knowing that I have a couple people interested in the story already. Pardon me for the OOCness that appears in this chapter with some of the characters. I also put in Sam's powers so if you can figure out all five, (two of which are obviously stated at the end) then you get a cookie! Haha. That's it. Read and review.**  
><strong>

**What Am I? :**

(Sam)

The pain that once bothered him during his first day of recovery had subsided down to nothing. Sam's body felt perfectly fine, despite doctors telling him that he'd be done for at least a week after his act of heroism. On the second day, Sam was practically begging his mom to let him go back to school and swearing that he was perfectly fine now.

Still, Sam was stuck in bed rest at least until Friday when his mother could guarantee that he had enough time to recover. Sam knew his body and knew that he was completely well, but he just couldn't explain the how. He thought about his near-death experience and meeting that angelic figure that said he'd come back to life as some kind of superhuman. He still wasn't exactly sure what that meant in even the slightest of ways.

Sam couldn't detect anything out of the ordinary about him, well, with the exception of this insanely quick recovery. He wanted to chalk it up as a victory for western medicine, but no drug on the planet could guarantee that speed of a recovery. It was too natural to be natural so it must belong to the supernatural.

Maybe that's where this insane headache was coming from too.

After being released from the hospital the day after the accident, Sam has been plagued with a killer migraine. He took all the pills that he could get his hands on, but it still wasn't enough to get rid of the pain that he'd feel. Whenever he'd close his eyes to rest, Sam could see these insanely vivid images of people suffering from distress. Most of it involved some kind of criminal act with people either stealing, kidnapping, fighting, drug deals, or murders. All of these images would play into his mind like a bad episode of "Law & Order" and "NCIS", all twenty versions of each one.

As annoying as they were, Sam was tolerating them until Thursday came around and he was completely fed up with all these images. The migraine was bad enough, but with all these damn pictures playing in his head he was not getting any sleep at all. He wouldn't be able to function as normal human if he couldn't get a decent amount of sleep.

So Sam went over to the kitchen, moving quietly while his mom was napping on the couch. She had taken the week off to help take care of her hero of a son. Stevie and their Uncle Sam took Tuesday off just too kind of make sure that Sam was fine. They both ended up going back to school and work once it was discovered that Sheila could manage Sam on her own. Plus, there was also Kurt's soon to be step-mother, who was a nurse, who just happened to have the week off to prepare for the approaching wedding.

Carole was plenty kind enough to help the young man who saved her future step-son's life.

Anyways, Sam made it into the kitchen and bent down to retrieve a pot from the cabinet. He pulled out a frying pan that his mom hadn't used for a long time then slowly began to go back into his bedroom. Once the door was closed, Sam hit himself in the head with the frying pan, hoping that would be enough to knock him out.

What Sam soon found out was that he felt nothing at all upon hitting himself. That was incredibly odd so he actually tried to hit himself again to find the same results. He felt no pain at all; he didn't even see any imaginary birds circling around his head.

"What the fuck," Sam whispered to himself. "This can't be right."

Just to prove a point, Sam hit himself again and still couldn't feel a damn thing. In his book, this was just beyond strange as Sam resigned himself to suffer from this migraine.

* * *

><p>Later in the afternoon, Sam smelt something being baked that seeped through the cracks of his bedroom door. The delicious scent of his mom's special, peanut butter cookies was like a Hallelujah chorus in Sam's vocabulary. Upon smelling this delicious dessert, the migraine and the strange dreams were completely forgotten as Sam shot up from the mattress.<p>

He would've immediately taken off to the kitchen had he not seen someone sitting at his bedside. For the first second, the young man nearly screamed in shock before taking a second to recognize the older boy.

Where Sam was tanned, muscular, tall, and blond, this young man was the opposite. He wasn't tan, but he wasn't exactly pasty either. He wasn't muscular, but he wasn't anorexic or a fatty, just plain average. He wasn't very tall either, but he was at a decent height. And his black hair was slicked very neatly to the side which showed off his square chin and hazel eyes.

The older boy was dressed in a very preppy uniform with his school crest on the left breast of his blue blazer. Red stripes ran along the side, giving him a sharper, dashing look. Then with his black slacks having one leg crossed over the other and equally dark shoes really put the outfit together to show just how gay this private school student was.

With a peanut butter cookie in his mouth, Blaine Anderson smiled at the freshly awaken Sam. "About damn time, Samuel," said Blaine. "I've been waiting for you to wake up for like twenty minutes now. I finished about half a dozen of your mom's cookies. Why didn't you ever tell me how much of a brilliant baker she is? Your mom should really open up her own bakery, these cookies are totally to die for!"

Under normal circumstances, Sam would've had a witty comeback for Blaine. Today, however, he was more in a state of shock as he watched his gay mentor that was sitting very causally across from him. It was also then that Sam remembered that he was wearing only his underwear and that he had thrown his covers off while sleeping.

Sam had come across Blaine from a gay teen's hotline. Blaine was volunteering there, doing some cancelling for young LGBT teenagers when Sam happened to get transferred to him. Sam had been going through some identify issues and started talking to Blaine about it when the two just happened to click in their geeky ways. Neither one could think of each other in a romantic sense, it was purely a platonic relationship, but Sam was grateful to have Blaine as a friend.

Even if Blaine could be a total snooty rich kid from Dalton Academy.

"By the way, Sam, I love the underwear," Blaine said, taking notice to Sam's nudity. He pointed at his non-cookie holding hand at the boxer-briefs that Sam wore. They were decorated with several Millennium Falcons flying all over the place. "I don't know about you, but I just hate boxers with a passion. They're such a straight man's underwear. They don't show the ass, you can't see the package, and it just makes everything look so BLAH!" That last bit had one of Blaine's signature crazy faces that usually always made Sam laugh his ass off.

Sam could only nod his head since he did agree with Blaine about the underwear deal. He hated boxers since it completely ruined whatever it was that a guy had to offer. He couldn't understand at all why straight girls loved their guys to be in boxers.

"Why are you here, Blaine?" Sam finally blurted out. "You hate Brooklyn. You almost never leave Dalton Academy, and you really never leave Manhattan."

"I had to check up on you, Sammy," Blaine said, smartly. "I haven't heard from you in two days so I got worried. You tell your mentor that you were in an accident and expect me not to care at all? I had to check up on you when you ignored my texts and phone calls."

Sam had to apologize for that one. He couldn't deal with all the ringing on account of the constant migraines and freaky visions.

"How are you feeling, Superboy?" asked Blaine. He didn't bother to wait for a response since he had way too many questions to act. Blaine just decided to shoot the bucket until Sam finally caught up with all the dirty details. "So you saved the life of the boy that you're totally in love with yet he isn't here sucking your dick in total worship? Why did you not cash in on this opportunity, Sammy? If some guy almost died to save me, you could believe I'd do anything and everything for him for the rest of my life. How was dying, now that I mention it? Did you walk into the light? Did you meet Jesus? Is Lady Gaga right by saying that Jesus is black? Or did you end up burning in eternal hellfire?"

For a moment, Blaine's insane questions actually helped to get Sam to forget about the pain in his head. Instead, he now had to worry about the pain that Blaine was giving him. Sam merely shook his head as he threw himself back down onto his mattress, placing his pillow on top of his head to avoid Blaine's next round of questions.

However, Blaine shall not be ignored! The preppy, young man climbed on top of Sam's bed, promising to share the rest of the cookie with him if he'd talk. Sam pretended that he wasn't listening at all to him, which only forced Blaine to talk louder in order to get Sam to do as he wanted. Plus, Blaine did like having an excuse to feel up on Sam's muscles. Just because he wasn't in love with Sam, didn't mean that Blaine didn't think that Sam had a rocking body. While Sam, on the other hand, liked to make fun of Blaine's chest hair.

And that's how things worked with Sam and Blaine's odd friendship.

* * *

><p>It was finally Friday, which meant that he was free at long last.<p>

Even the doctors were baffled by Sam's miraculous recovery and urged him to take it easy; Sam couldn't wait to go back to school. He had missed so much the last three days that he was extremely grateful that it was only the first week. Plus, he got to interact with Kurt a lot more since the fashionable teen was the one who delivered assignments and notes from his teachers.

However, today was going to be a big deal with Sam. Due to the accident, Sam was banned from playing football this semester due to the doctor's orders. Even though Sam was practically fully healed, the doctors didn't want to risk any kind of a setback so Sam was unable to participate. That meant that Sam's scholarship was in jeopardy. If he didn't find another competitive activity, and fast, then he could get kicked out of school.

Luckily, the school's guidance counselor was working on finding a suitable substitute for Sam to participate in. He had an appointment to meet up with her this morning before homeroom, which explained him getting up extra early. That and Sam was just so damn excited to go back to school that he was as giddy as a monkey.

And in the midst of all the excitement, Sam had slammed his door when he could've sworn he heard something crack. He opened his door back up to see that there was a slight line running along the sides. Sam didn't think too much about it, the door was pretty old. It wasn't like he could literally break a door off its hinges.

So quickly playing dress up, stealing some glances of Kurt getting ready, and making sure that he was presentable, Sam deemed himself worthy of going back to school. He rushed into the kitchen just as Stevie was bringing a pan full of eggs towards the table. It just so happened that it was the same pan that Sam had hit himself repeatedly with yesterday. Somehow, his hard head didn't do much damage to the pan.

"Mom, we need a new frying pan," said Stevie. "This one is a little dent like someone dropped it one too many times."

"Alright, sweetie," said his mother as she drank her coffee."

As Sam joined his family at the table, he was greeted with his Uncle Sam coming in as well. The cop had yet to leave for work, but he needed to hurry to get to fighting and preventing crime. Uncle Samuel sat down to eat with his family and soon took off to get to work, after sending a quick thanks to Stevie and wishing Sam plenty of luck.

Sheila still had doubts about Sam going to school today so she had taken today off as well to be ready in case something happened. Sam promised that he wouldn't save anyone's life today, no matter who the individual was as he finished breakfast.

Once their buses came for them, Sam and Stevie said goodbye to one another as they headed off to their separate schools. Today, Sam didn't see Dave picking up Kurt so either he wasn't there yet or they had taken off early.

Either way, Sam tried not to care too much, but he had to admit that it bothered him that Kurt was with Dave. Not that Kurt or anyone outside his family and Blaine knew about his sexual preferences. So, the only person that Sam could blame was himself for not being open and honest with the neighbor boy that he was madly in love with.

* * *

><p>When Sam finally made it to campus, he wandered into the administration building to go have his meeting with the guidance counselor. Sam could only wonder how badly this could go as he stepped inside the office of an obsessively neat woman.<p>

The first thing that caught Sam's attention was how neat this office was. And he didn't mean just like normal person neat. Oh no, there was something very anal about the neatness of the office that made Sam afraid to touch even a speck of dust. Sam felt that he'd somehow throw off the natural order of things if such an event occurred.

Sitting at her desk, finishing up her coffee, the perky Ms. Emma Pillsbury greeted Sam kindly. The red-headed woman gestured Sam to sit down as she fixed the collar of her red sweater. "Thank you for showing up this early, Samuel," said Ms. Pillsbury. She opened the folder that she had all ready for this meeting. "Now, I know that this isn't fair to put your scholarship in such a hostile situation, considering your heroic act."

"I didn't save Kurt's life for special treatment, Ms. Pillsbury," said Sam. "Kurt's been my best friend since I moved to New York after losing my father and little sister."

"That's really amazing," Ms. Pillsbury said, slightly in awe of Sam. She kept a smile on her face though as she pulled out a list. "I went over your file and kind of selected some act ivies that you might be interested in. These clubs all feature some inter-school competitive competition that would satisfy the requirements for your extra circular. Upon doctor's request, none of which require much to any physical contact."

Sam briefly ran down the list of clubs, seeing everything that he could be involved with. The usual academic ones were present, which he knew right away was a no. Sam might be a smart kid, but he wasn't that smart to compete with those insane bunches of braniacs. Academic decathlons just weren't his thing.

Eventually, his eyes drifted down to the bottom until he found the crowned jewel. He thought about joining the club, but didn't think it would be possible until later in the semester. Sam had originally planned to adjust to the school and work on being quarterback before doing this, but screw it. Sam had no other choice now that football was out of the question and academic competitions were a hell no.

"Glee club satisfies the requirement?" asked Sam.

Ms. Pillsbury was exceptionally delighted to hear the positive energy that came from Sam. Most students who saw Glee club immediately began to run away since it was started up again over four years ago. "Yes," she said, happily. "I personally assist Mr. Schuster upon occasion and serve as a co-sponsor for the club. You would be guaranteed acceptance into the club upon giving your audition then your scholarship would be secured."

"Alright then," Sam said, handing the list back to her. "Then Glee club it is. I have Homeroom with Mr. Schu so I can talk to him about it then."

"Excellent!" Ms. Pillsbury said, clapping her hands. "Well now that's all settled, you can leave unless there is something else that concerns you, Samuel."

"Nothing at all, Ms. Pillsbury," Sam said, politely. "Thank you for your help."

"Yes, you should thank her for making your life at this school a complete nightmare."

Sam and Ms. Pillsbury looked towards the doorway to see a tall, frightening woman standing there. She was dressed up in a red tracksuit with short, blonde hair and plenty of angry wrinkles decorating her face. Upon first glance, Sam knew that this was the infamous Sue Sylvester that he had heard to avoid at all costs if he wanted to live.

Sue started to saunter into Ms. Pillsbury's office with the counselor becoming afraid of the Cheerio coach. The older woman briefly glanced over to Sam, not really paying him much attention. "Beat it, Mangelina Jolie!" said Sue.

Not needing to be told twice, Sam grabbed his backpack and took off running, leaving Ms. Pillsbury alone with this lunatic.

"Now, why am I fired this time, Emma?" Sue said, leaning towards Ms. Pillsbury's desk.

"Well…Sue," Ms. Pillsbury, "the principal found out…he found out that you tried to fire Brittany Pierce from a cannon again."

"Blasphemy!" Sue shouted with all her fury. "Who told you those lies?"

"Brittany told us, Sue," said the counselor.

"Lies!" shouted Sue. "It's all lies!"

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

Before the bell rang to dismiss the student body to class, Kurt finally made it into the building where he held Dave's hand. A light blue began to grace Kurt's face as Dave lifted up his hand and placed a gentle kiss on it. Kurt felt like such a girl, but he didn't care because he was actually happy for a nice change.

Not that he was a moody, depressed individual all the time. It's just that real moments of happiness were far and between since losing his mom.

"Are you coming to the game tonight?" Dave asked.

"Yeah," Kurt said, smiling gently. "I'll be there after rehearsals today. It shouldn't take too long though as long as Rachel doesn't have a new plan to take care of the club."

Dave couldn't help but to chuckle a little bit, considering just how insane Rachel could be. Everyone in the school learned that Rachel Berry had some serious issues. She wasn't feared, but it was generally a good idea to avoid her unless you wanted to get your ear talked off to by a Smurf.

As they went down the halls, Kurt took notice of Sam running out of the administration office. And not two seconds later, both Kurt and Dave heard Sue's famous war ranting. The frightening, Banshee screeching was enough to make everyone in the hall well aware to get as far away as possible.

Kurt took Dave and started following the trail that Sam left behind. Once they were out of the danger zone, Kurt took notice of how good Sam looked compared to when he first in the hospital. Sam had looked so cold and lifeless, where now he looked as if the accident had never happened to him.

"Sam!" Kurt shouted, gaining the blond's attention. He dragged Dave towards his neighbor, checking him out a little bit. There didn't even look like there was a single scratch on him. "You look…fine. Wow, you're quick healer. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good," Sam said, cheerfully. "I feel like it never happened, except for the occasional migraine. Doctors say that I can't play football though for the rest of the semester as a safety precaution. It totally sucks."

"That's a shame," Dave said, plainly. "You would've been a way better QB then Finn."

"Wait, but that puts your scholarship at risk," Kurt said, defensively.

Sam nodded his head for a second before running a hand through his blond bangs. "Yeah, but it's alright now," said the blond teen. "I just came out of a meeting with Ms. Pillsbury and she helped me find a substitute activity before Sue showed up. I decided to join Glee club."

"That's amazing!" Kurt said, excitedly.

"That's cool," Dave said, simply. He started to hold onto Kurt's hand a little firmer, which Kurt noticed as a little odd. The jock knew that this conversation had to end and soon. "Well, we should be getting to class. Sorry about how things turned out, Sam, but thank you for saving Kurt's life. I don't know what I would've done without him."

"My pleasure," Sam said, faking sincerity to Dave. He took off in the direction of his class.

Dave took Kurt back down the opposite path that they were originally going down. He put as much distance between them as possible, while continuing to squeeze Kurt's hand a little too tightly.

Kurt noticed that this behavior wasn't typical of Dave. He didn't usually get like this while talking to guys, but then Kurt started thinking about it. Dave always did seem to get a little defensive whenever Sam was in the picture. Kurt could remember when Sam came over to drop a birthday present for his eighteenth birthday. Dave didn't look very happy and seemed just a tad angry about Sam being there too.

Kurt couldn't exactly understand why Dave got so defensive when it came to Sam, especially since Sam's straight. It wasn't like he'd go riding off into the sunset with Sam and live happily ever after.

No matter how much Kurt had hoped for such a day to arrive. But Kurt was logical, he couldn't force Sam to like guys and be with him. He had accepted and moved on with the fact that they could never happen.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

Wandering into homeroom a little late, Sam made his way to his seat at the front of the class. A few people looked at him, many saying kind things about Sam's actions the other day. Sam had to admit that it felt pretty cool to be thought of as a hero.

But the encounter with Dave and Kurt was still fresh in his mind. Sam wasn't blind; he saw how protective Dave got over Kurt when he was there. Sam knew that jealousy could be a very dangerous thing, especially when there was a considerable size difference. It wasn't so much that Sam was worried for himself; he was worried for what could possibly happen to Kurt if things got too out of hand. If he wanted to, Dave could crush the life out of Kurt.

Sam perished the thought though as he tried to remind himself that Dave was somewhat of a decent guy. He might hate Kurt's best guy friend, but he'd never hurt Kurt.

As homeroom was nearly over, Mr. Schuster called on Sam to come to his desk, while the remainder of the class was busy in their own conversations. Probably aware of the situation, Sam thought that the teacher was going to offer his assistance.

"I heard from Ms. Pillsbury that you decided to join Glee," said Mr. Schuster.

"Yeah, I did," said Sam. "It was the only option on the list that seemed to work for me at all. I was actually going to talk to you about that."

"Well, that's great Sam," Mr. Schuster said, cheerfully. At least he knew that the student was serious and this wasn't some messed up joke. He was a fairly decent judge of people, with the exception of his ex-wife. "You're guaranteed to join the club; we just need an audition from you as a formality. I decided to start this week off as a favorite's week, so just bring in one of your favorite songs and sing it."

"Alright," Sam said, smiling. "I think I already have one in mind. Is it okay if I come in today?"

Mr. Schuster nodded his head, telling Sam just to show up at the choir room after school.

Sam then returned to his desk where he played the song in his mind. He just knew that he'd kill his audition.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

Another day of school and another piece of his soul was sucked out of him. No matter how much Kurt loved going to the Academy, school was school. He just dealt with everything that needed to be dealt with before entering the hallowed choir room. If Kurt was actually into religion, which he wasn't, he'd think of the choir room as his church and the stage was his Jesus.

Amen.

Kurt walked in to see that, surprisingly, everybody was there already. Of course, Mr. Schuster had yet to show up so he didn't think too much of it. He just honed in on the empty chair that was right between Artie and Mercedes. He ignored Rachel, walked passed Finn aka Frankenteen, and ignored Puck's dick comments about his Marc Jacobs bag.

Artie was sitting next to Mike with his girlfriend Tina beside him, and the two of them were talking about the new Halo game that was about to come out. Their geeky minds were at work, but soon it focused onto show choir. Apparently, Artie had come up with some new dance moves that he wanted to show Mike later on. Mike was totally thrilled since Artie was wickedly creative when it came to the dance moves. Between those two, they were the best male dancers in the club. Brittany was hands down the best dancer that the girls had to offer with Santana not too far behind.

"So my head is killing me!" Mercedes said, leaning on his shoulder.

"I have half a granola bar leftover," Kurt said, fishing for the bit of food. "Do you want it?"

"Yes, please."

As Kurt handed over the rest of his snack to his best diva, Mr. Schuster finally walked in. Kurt noticed that their director was exceptionally cheerful today which could only mean one thing. Mr. Schuster had found another Journey song that they had yet to perform. Kurt could only tolerate singing so much classic rock before he'd go ballistic and shank somebody.

But it turned out to be something else entirely. Following behind Mr. Schuster were two very unfamiliar faces joined with Sam Evans. Kurt knew why Sam was there, but the other two were a complete mystery. At least until it dawned on him just seconds before Mr. Schuster opened his mouth up.

"You will never believe the good news, everyone," said Mr. Schuster. "Today, we'll be welcoming three new members into our club." The room was briefly filled with applause, but mostly curiosity. Their director turned back around to point at each of the individuals joining their club. "This is Sam Evans. I'm sure most of you have heard about him by now. He's the one who risked his life to save our own Kurt the other day."

Sam waved at the other Gleeks who actually gave him a solid round of applause. There was no arguing that Sam would be popular in the club, especially since he actually laid down his own life to save one of their own.

"Didn't I tell you that Trouty Mouth has massive lips?" Santana whispered to Brittany.

"They're yummy," giggled Brittany.

Mr. Schuster then pointed towards a much younger and scrawnier boy that was next to Sam. The boy looked like a scene kid, but his way of dressing was a little stranger. He certainly wore a lot more colors with the shirt looking like a peasant shirt with a thick vest over it. His dark brown bangs covered part of his face with his pale skin shinning even in this awful lighting.

"Now, this is Mika Valentine," said Mr. Schuster. "He's a freshman that came here from the U.K."

"Hello," Mika said with a light accent.

The others had a kind welcome for him as well as Mr. Schuster went to the last of them. She was a pretty girl that just radiated with this diva-like aura that threatened Rachel, Mercedes, and Kurt. Her dark skin matched Mercedes's own skin tone, but she wore far more colorful clothing. Pink was a dominate color for the skinny girl where there were even pink streaks in her hair.

"And last, but certainly not least," said Mr. Schuster, "this is Nicole Stone. She's a freshman as well who was admitted due to her dancing and singing ability."

"Hey," Nicole said. "You can just call me Nicki." Her dark brown eyes began to scan on some of the guys in the room. Although, she was very young, Nicole knew what she liked and she could work with some of the guys she saw. With the exception of Kurt and Mika, she knew right away that those two were very gay.

Even Kurt kind of took notice to Mika. He thought that the boy was adorable, reminding him of a younger version of himself. Mika just had that innocent look in those stunning, gray eyes. But Kurt could obviously tell that there were a lot of secrets buried behind those eyes.

"Now for the fun part," said Mr. Schuster. "Our new members will audition a couple verses from a favorite song of their choice. They've all prepared for this so let's hear what they have to sing for us. Who would like to go first?"

"If I may," Nicki said, raising her hand up. "Ladies first, boys."

Sam and Mika stepped aside, taking chairs at the front of the room.

Nicki took out her iPod and inserted it into a nearby dock. She played with it for a moment until she found the music itself, minus the brilliant voice of her home girl. And with the familiar beat playing, Nicki began her rap. "This one is for the boys with the booming system. Top down, AC with the cooling system. When he come up in the club, he be blazin' up. Got stacks on deck like he savin' up."

Nicki was going on with plenty of attitude and drive as she started to move her body around. It was as if she was actually channeling Nicki Minaj's spirit.

"And he ill, he real, he might got a deal. He pop bottles and he got the right kind of bill. He cold, he dope, he might sell coke. He always in the air, but he never fly coach. He a motherfucking trip, trip, sailor of the ship, ship. When he make it drip, drip kiss him on the lip, lip. That's the kind of dude I was lookin' for and yes you'll get slapped if you're lookin' hoe."

"I said, excuse me you're a hell of a guy. I mean my, my, my, my you're like pelican fly. I mean, you're so shy and I'm loving your tie. You're like slicker than the guy with the thing on his eye, oh. Yes I did, yes I did, somebody please tell him who the F I is. I am Nicki Stone, I mack them dudes up, back coupes up, and chuck the deuce up!"

Nicki didn't have to go any further then that because most of the club was already cheering her own. The guys dug her performance with the exception of Kurt who had a few choice words. Rachel and Mercedes weren't thrilled, but that was for different reasons. Rachel felt that this girl didn't qualify for the classiness of the club, while Mercedes did not want to threaten her black girl diva status.

Still, everyone else loved her, which made the bad ass, little Nicki automatically accepted into the club. Nicki took a seat beside Sam once she got her iPod back where she waited for her final verdict from Mr. Schuster.

"Well, Artie," said Mr. Schuster, "it looks like you got a partner to rap with."

"That's what's up," laughed Artie.

A few of the other Gleeks got a laugh out of that, even Kurt had to admit that Artie had an interesting way of breaking through the tension. It was one of the many gifts that their nerdy, rapping, dancing comedian had in him. Artie's friendliness was so contagious that he was nearly as dangerous as Sam.

"And Nicki, try to work around the fouler language," said Mr. Schuster. "Now, who wants to go next?"

"I'll go," Mika said, raising his hand. "If that's alright." That last bit was directed towards Sam. The young gentleman gestured Mika to go to center stage. The boy briefly began to blush as he got up off his feet and went over to one of the band kids that they had hanging around. He handed over some sheet music to the one with the acoustic guitar.

Mika then returned to the center of the room to where he'd perform. He had on a soft smile on his face as he straightened himself out. "I know that it's a woman singing the song, but I love it," he said, softly. "And since I come from Gypsies, I figured that it would be a little appropriate."

The guitarist began to play some foreign chords that did have a Gypsy-like tone to it.

Mika began to sway around to the music a little bit, moving his skinny limbs to the melody as he surrendered himself to music. "Broke my heart down the road. Spent the weekend sewing the pieces back on. Crayons and Dolls pass me by, walking gets too boring when you learn how to fly."

"Not the homecoming kind. Take the top off and who knows what you might find. Won't confess all my sins. You can bet I'll try it, but you can't always win."

He started to swing his hips around a bit as he really got into the song. "'Cause I'm a gypsy. Are you coming with me? I might steal your clothes and wear them if they fit me. Never made agreements just like a gypsy. And I won't back down 'cause life's already bit me. And I won't cry I'm too young to die if you're gonna quit me. 'Cause I'm a gypsy."

Kurt was by far more impressed with Mika then he was with Nicki. Where she was clearly a sexual, attention whore in the making Mika kept things softer and simpler. Then again, he could respect the both of them since he couldn't deny that they both had amazing voices. They would be able to hold the club together when a fourth of them graduated this school year.

"Good job," Rachel said, applauding him. "You have a good background voice."

Quinn had to roll her eyes at how dumb Rachel was as she held back the urge to strangle her. That seemed to happen a lot lately, which was really putting some pressure onto her Christian tolerance. "I liked it," Quinn said, smiling at Mika. She tried to redirect some of that tension into something a little more positive. "It was very cute."

"A little gay, but not bad," Puck said, with his arms crossed.

Mika didn't bother to take any offense at what Puck said. Everyone was entitled to his or her opinion no matter what it was.

So, proud of his acceptance in the club as he sat back down.

With those two done, Sam got up from his seat and took out the sheet music from his bag. He didn't expect the band to be perfect since they had no prior notice, but Kurt told him of how amazing the band was.

Kurt felt himself staring a little too intensely at Sam though as he shook his head to regain himself.

"I'm not usually into the emo stuff, but you gotta love Panic! At the Disco," said Sam.

Sam pointed at the band, giving them their cue to start. Kurt started to laugh as he recognized exactly what song Sam was about to sing. It was, after all, one of Sam's favorite songs. Kurt had proof of that since he heard Sam singing it every day for two months straight.

Sam tilted his head down to the ground and stayed there as his cue came.

"Oh, well imagine, as I'm pacing the pews in a church corridor. And I can't help but to hear. No, I can't help but to hear an exchanging of words: 'What a beautiful wedding! What a beautiful wedding!' says a bridesmaid to a waiter. 'And yes, but what a shame, what a shame the poor groom's bride is a whore.'"

Sam started to burst with some of that energy that had been eating away at him these last couple of days. He made sure of this as he thrusted himself towards the crowd of performers. "I'd chime in with a 'haven't you people ever heard of closing a goddamn door?' No, it's much better to face these kinds of things with a sense of poise and rationality. I'd chime in, 'haven't you people ever heard of closing a goddamn door?' No, it's much better to face these kinds of things with a sense of..."

That's when Sam went to his seat and knelt down, touching Kurt's hand for a second. This sudden action caused Kurt to blush for a second, only for a second though.

"Well in fact, well I'll look at it this way, I mean technically our marriage is saved. Well this calls for a toast so pour the champagne. Oh! Well in fact. Well I'll look at it this way, I mean technically our marriage is saved. Well this calls for a toast, so pour the champagne, pour the champagne."

And with the last of his jumping, Sam ended his own audition with a graceful bow. There was plenty of applause for him, which greatly rivaled against all the cheers that Nicki got during her audition.

Kurt couldn't help but to grin a little like a goof as he applauded Sam's performance. He had to admit it that Sam had a bit of the theater bug nibbling away at his feet.

"Dude, that was totally legit!" Finn cheered as he took his arm from Quinn.

Puck had failed to pay attention to Sam's singing. He just couldn't take his eyes away from that massive mouth that Sam had on him. "Dude, your mouth is huge! How many tennis balls can you fit in there?" The Jewish Stud asked, suddenly. Everyone thought that was a little weird as they turned to face him.

Sam was totally caught off guard, but his face didn't show that. Not wanting this to be his big coming out moment, he got on the defensive. "I don't know. I never had any balls in my mouth," he said to Puckermen. "Have you?"

And for the first time in Glee history, Puck had no comment. So Santana started to laugh her ass off at him, applauding her Trouty Mouth for that one. Even Kurt could help but to burst with laughter.

Mr. Schuster ignored that whole skit as he continued to bare a smile on his face. "Well, I guess that its then," he said, happily. "We have three new members and they're all amazing. I can say this with confidence, we are going to win Nationals this year. I just know it!"

"Heck yeah!" shouted Mike.

"Woo hoo!" Brittany said, deciding to join in.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

Fresh from his audition, Sam actually felt pretty pumped as he left the building. He waved goodbye to a few of his fellow Gleeks before taking off to get to the subway. The last of the buses were long gone so Sam had no choice but to take the subway back to Brooklyn. No big deal though, he was too excited about all of this time that he'd get to spend around Kurt to give a damn.

With any luck, Sam thought that he'd be able to win Kurt's heart with all the singing and dancing. Today's performance seemed to gotten him some positive responses from the fair-faced boy, which really helped to boost Sam's confidence a bit. He was so excited that he stupidly jumped into the air with some serious giddy factor.

That's when his feet completely left the ground and gravity seemed to have no bounds over him. Sam flew up into the air with a light cry escaping his lips as he kept going up until he was a little above the building next to him. He threw his weight to the side and ended up landing on the rooftop with a rough thump.

Sam lost his breath for a moment, wondering what the hell just happened to him. He started to get back up on his feet and saw that he really was on the rooftop of an apartment complex. He was on the fourth floor of a building, which was far higher than any human could jump through natural means. This was purely impossible. Sam thought he was imagining it, but it was just too amazing not to be ignored.

For a moment, Sam paused as he looked to see that there was another building pretty close. He bit down on his lips as he thought about it for a moment, knowing that this was stupid. Then he thought about his near-death experience. This couldn't possibly be what the higher being meant by making him into something more than human.

There was only one way to find out of it was true or not.

Sam dropped his backpack on the rough and did something he thought was completely stupid. He broke into a quick sprint, which honestly felt good on his mildly stiff joins. His body responded so quickly that Sam couldn't even remember if he made a conscious command. But the next thing he knew was that he was jumping off the ledge and gravity ceased to exist. For a moment, he felt completely weightless as he literally flew to the building opposite of him.

Sam landed perfectly onto the roof, which he thought was purely amazing experience. A joyful smile began to take place on his face as he realized that this just happened. He literally flew, he actually flew!

"This is…this is too fucking cool!" Sam shouted. "Oh God, this is incredible!" Sam calmed himself down for a second and focused on that weightless feeling. Soon enough, his feet were no longer touching the ground and his body was moving back to the other building. "I can fly. I really can fly!"

His feet touched the ground then he ran to retrieve his backpack. Only, he didn't just run like a normal person would. Without paying too much thought into it, Sam moved so quickly that he nearly fell off the edge of the apartment from its opposite end. It took some sudden action in order to prevent him from falling the four floors to his potential doom.

"Holy shit!" Sam said to himself. "I'm fast. I'm really fast. And I can fly. Whoa."

He was simply speechless at this point as he took notice of what had happened to him. He started looking at his hands then began to flex his muscles, feeling all this strength rippling throughout his entire body. He had no idea how to control these abilities, these gifts given to him by a higher being. All that Sam knew was that he was given an opportunity that most guys would die to have the opportunity of having such talents bestowed upon him.

It looks like Blaine was more than correct when he called Sam Superboy yesterday. From what Sam could understand about this sudden change, he had become a superhuman.

And Sam's fanboy began to run at a million miles an hour as he realized that he had responsibility for having these gifts. Sam knew that he had the power to do a lot of good for this city, a remarkable amount of potential.

Now, Sam just needed to figure out just how he'd use these gifts to help people.

"Well," Sam said to himself, "everyone is always saying how this world needs a hero. I might not be able to save the whole world from a flaming meteor just yet, but I can do something. I can make a difference. I can be a hero."

Retrieving his discarded backpack, Sam jumped from the rooftop where he landed on the ground without even a slightest bit of pain. He felt so amazing in fact that he felt virtually indestructible. Now, more than ever, Sam knew that he could find a way to make this hero thing work out.

* * *

><p>End! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.<p>

Featured songs:

Nicki Minaj "SuperBass"

Shakira "Gypsy"

Panic! At the Disco "I Write Sins, Not Tragedies".


	3. A New Me

**Author's Note: **Well, here's another fun-filled chapter. Thanks for all the support you've given me so far. I hope you guys continue to enjoy reading the story. The next chapter we'll finally see Sam being all superhero. Right now...I'll just be setting things up. Read and review.**  
><strong>

**A New Me:**

(Sam)

The better part of his weekend was spent being locked up in his bedroom, only coming out to get something to eat and to take use of the bathroom. Other than that, Sam was stuck in his room with a notebook on his bed as he worked on his special project. He completely ignored the homework that was due on Monday morning in favor of coming up with a design to help him keep the city safe from the bad guys.

Yeah, Sam had officially-officially decided that he was going to do this superhero thing. He had the powers to make a difference for the people of New York so it only made sense to do this. Well, for a geek it made perfect sense. Sam only did spend the bulk of his life reading comic books like Spiderman, X-Men, The Avengers, and all the other "classics". This was just what someone did when he discovered that he had superpowers.

Sketched onto the notebook was Sam's costume design. Every superhero needed to have a costume, how else was he going to keep his identity a secret?

But there was more to being a hero than having a killer costume. Sam needed to work more on this heroic persona of his, which wasn't looking so good since he had yet to come up with a name. Then there was the costume situation, how was he going to get one? The sweet boy had n talent when it came to making clothes, there's no way he could risk having his mother or Kurt fix him one either. He would be risking getting seen and since everyone had some form of a camera with them at all times, he would be caught in no time.

Hence why Sam was going to have to go cheap and find something that could work from his own closet. Sam also thought about hitting up a few thrift shops to find something cheap yet durable that wouldn't be too obvious. Until he could find a way to fund for a proper outfit, he figured that this would just have to do.

"Let's see, jeans are a major must," Sam said to himself. "I'm not wearing spandex, but something tight wouldn't be a bad idea. Loose clothing would only making kicking ass a little more difficult. I'll need to wear something tight enough, but not too tight where I can't even breathe. But what should I do to cover my face, my hair is pretty recognizable since the lemon-juice incident and I'm just so damn pretty."

It was odd how this is where Sam's superhero obsession was taking him. Granted, all of his concerns were valid since it was important for a hero to keep his identity a secret. Sure, Iron Man and the Fantastic Four walked around with everyone knowing who they were, but Batman, Superman, and Spiderman didn't. They knew how to keep their shit a secret so that nobody would come after their loved ones.

And since he still had plenty of people that he loved the Tennessee native refused to risk their lives because of him.

There was a simple solution for his dilemma and that was to put a mask on. If Sam just wore a ski mask or something along those lines then he didn't need to worry about people seeing his face. He'd be completely covered, granted a bit hot, but nobody would be able to see him. That would grant himself and his loved ones a bit more safety.

Now, Sam just needed to work on controlling all of these superpowers of his. He pretty much narrowed down what abilities he had in his possession. They were pretty cool too. He had super strength, super speed, flight, accelerated healing/durability maybe, and clairvoyance. It was a little trickier to realize that he was clairvoyant until he saw a news report on a murder that he foresaw the night before.

With the list of possibilities narrowed down, it gave him the knowledge to know someplace to begin. Sam was more than ready to take up this mantel, but, of course, a bit of training was absolutely necessary. Superman didn't go saving the world as soon as he got his powers; he had to master them a bit first before taking off in those tights.

First though, Sam had to deal with a loud pounding at his door. The sudden hammering had caught the teenage boy off his guard, making him jump out of his skin a little. "Sammy!" That voice had come from Stevie, so Sam opened his door quickly.

Stevie was standing on the other side and gave out an exaggerated gesture when he saw his older brother. The youngest of the Evans clan's eyes began to roll back when he caught that scent. He pinched his noise then took a large step back from the door and the shirtless Sam. "Oh God, that smell," gagged Stevie. "Dinner's ready, but you take a shower first! Open a window too so that air doesn't stay."

"Whatever, boy, I don't smell that bad," Sam said, closing his door on his brother.

Stevie begged to differ, but didn't say much else as he went back to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Sam retrieved some clean clothes and grabbed his towel when he really caught a scent of himself. He raised his arm up then took a whiff from his underarm which was covered with short, blond hairs. "Oh sweet baby Jesus!" Sam said, coughing a bit. "I do stink."

Sam quickly cracked a window open to let out some of that stink before running to the bathroom to get into the shower.

* * *

><p>As Monday was coming to a close, the members of the New Directions flocked to the choir room to get this week's assignment. Everyone was curious as to what Mr. Schuster had planned since he stated Friday that he had something fun waiting for them.<p>

Brittany, of course, thought that meant they were getting a class pet. Rachel was hoping that this meant another solo for her. Santana was hoping that Mr. Schu was going to let her hit Rachel with a baseball bat. Finn, Artie, and Mike were hoping for a class pet too. While Puck was hoping that they were going to get this hot student-teacher with big tits.

Once everyone was inside, Mr. Schuster finally strolled inside with nothing in hand. There wasn't anything else in the classroom so the New Directions felt that this surprise would be a total disappointment. Even Sam had to admit that he was a little upset that this surprise wasn't a class pet. He remembered the gerbil that his second grade class used to have…before Mr. Pete Pete mysteriously disappeared. Now, what a class pet would have to do with a class assignment was beyond him.

"Alright guys, I have announcement to make," said Mr. Schuster. "This week, we'll be performing duets. However, these duets will be a competition between pairs. At the end of the week, we'll vote for a winning pair who'll get a grand prize."

This held everyone's attention. Getting a prize sounded very good to them, but somewhere questioning just what this prize would be.

Like Santana, who was really curious as to what this prize would be. "Is this something good or is it one of those hideous sweater vests that you like to wear so much?" asked the Latina Cheerio.

For a second, Santana actually caught Mr. Schuster completely off guard. Normally, the teacher was prepared for her sexual remarks directed towards him. Being just plain mean was something he didn't have to deal with since early last school year.

"Yeah, Mr. Schu," said Puck, "what is the prize?"

"Well, the winning duet couple gets to have dinner, on me, at Breadsticks."

And that was all that needed to be said to make everyone in the classroom go completely bonkers. There was lots of screaming and cheering as all the members of New Directions got excited about going to the best Italian restaurant in town. Some were already salivate at the sweetness that was Breadsticks.

The upper eastside restaurant was known for being just a bit on the pricy side, but they served the best food ever. It was a great place to go to when you wanted Italian food and lots of it on the double.

"Did you know that they're legally obligated to keep bringing you free breadsticks until you've paid for the check?" said Santana. "I actually went in their once with a wheel barrel and made them fill it up. All I can tell you suckers is that Brit and I have this one in the bag. Isn't that right, sweetie?"

"It's gonna be on like Donkey Kong!" Brittany announced to the class."

Quinn had to disagree with her fellow Cheerios as she leaned into the chest of her quarterback. She drew Finn's arm over her, while locking fingers with him. "Sorry, loves, but my honey and I are going to be winning that dinner," said Quinn. "It'll just a few days before our one year anniversary."

Finn took advantage of that romantic opening to kiss his girlfriend on the lips.

Rachel glared at them for a moment, which Sam found very curious. He did remember Kurt telling him about a love triangle between those three. It was a very messy situation that everyone avoided talking about for the sake of avoiding a bloodbath with the exception of Santana. She wasn't big on helping the cause unless it actually benefited her.

Rachel spun her neck back like the freaking Exorcist (in Sam's book) to face Puck. As much as she hated this, she wanted to win that dinner so she could rub Quinn's face in it. "Puckerman, you're going to team up with me," she told him. "Got it?"

"Understood, my Jewish Princess," Puck said with a cocky grin. "I want that dinner almost as badly as you want to be number one at everything."

More alliances were being formed at a relatively quick pace. Obviously, Mike and Tina were paired up since they were a couple like Finn and Quinn. Although anniversary was a month ago, that didn't mean they couldn't celebrate twice.

Artie and Nicki were already at an agreement even before class had began. Those two were clearly plotting something that made some of the other members worry.

Kurt moved very boldly, catching Sam completely off his guard. The fair-skinned teen sat down at an empty seat beside Sam where he took hold of his hand. "I disagree with everyone here," he announced, happily. "Sam and I will be winning that dinner."

"What?" Sam said, in complete shock. Had his brain not died when Kurt touched his hand, Sam would be flying towards the moon right now. However, he also realized how passionate Kurt could get with his performances. It reminded Sam of how much trouble he'd be in if he screwed up.

"Just say yes, Sam," Kurt said, teeth clenched.

"Yes!" Sam said, no longer hesitating.

Why ruin a good opportunity? Sam knew this meant they'd be working together a lot, which could mean good things for him. It also gave him a lot of time to spend around the amazing Kurt Hummel, even if he did go a little psycho for performances.

"Hell to the no!" Mercedes yelled at Kurt. "If that's how you want to play it, White Boy, it's on now." Kurt's usual duet partner was not pleased by this development at all. Had he actually gave her a little head's up then she'd be cool, but he didn't so she was pissed.

Mercedes looked over to Mika to see that he was partner less. She knew that the kid had some vocals on him so with a little work then they'd be going to Breadsticks. "Hey Mika," she said, sweetly. "It looks like it's the two of us. What do you say?"

"Sure!" Mika said, happily. He was happy to see that Mercedes actually looked willing to work with him despite kind of being forced to. At least it wasn't one of those pathetic situations where the teacher actually had to point the partner less person out. This way, Mika was able to retain a little bit of his dignity.

"Alright then," Mr. Schuster said, "good luck, teams."

"Hold on, Mr. Schu," Artie said, raising his hand. "Nicki and I already have something ready. If you don't mind, we'd like to perform and teach everybody a lesson."

"That's right," Nicki said, standing up with him.

"Let's hear it then," Mr. Schu said, stepping aside.

For a moment, there was only silence in the choir room as Artie and Nicki stood beside each other. Then came the music, which played very softly. Artie then turned where he got down on a knee, while holding Nicki's hand.

It was made clear with that simple gesture plus the starry eyes that something was going on with those two.

"There's always that one person that will always have your heart. You never see it coming cause you're blinded from the start. Know that you're that one for me. It's clear for everyone to see. Ooh baby ooh you'll always be my boo"

Artie started to dance around Nicki as she continued to remain still. He was bouncing around with all this energy that it made some wonder if he was faking these emotions or not. "I don't know bout you all, but I know about us and uh. It's the only way we know how to rock. I don't know bout you all, but I know about us and uh. It's the only way we know how to rock."

Nicki started to dance alongside him only to have Artie grab onto her. He held onto her with a firm, yet gentle hold as he looked into her eyes with a burst of passion. "Do you remember girl, I was the one who gave you your first kiss. Cause I remember girl I was the one who said put your lips like this. Even before all the fame and people screaming your name, girl, I was there when you were my baby."

The pair resumed their dancing as Artie continued to sing loud and proud. "It started when we were younger you were mine my boo. Now another brother's taken over, but its still in your eyes my boo." Artie still sang, but Nicki provide her softer vocals to back him up. It was actually a pretty combination that made some from their audience smile. "Even though we used to argue it's alright. I know we haven't seen each other in awhile but you will always be my boo."

It was Nicki's turn now as she took control of the music. Artie was down on his, but this time Nicki had joined him. "I was in love with you when we were younger. You were mine my boo. And I see it from time to time I still feel like my boo. And I can see it no matter how I try to hide my boo. Even though there's another man who's in my life you will always be my boo."

Nicki pushed herself away from Artie as she got back on her feet and went towards the piano. Her pink nails touching the purple piano with a longing touch. "Yes I remember boy cause after we kissed I could only think about your lips. Yes I remember boy, the moment I knew you were the one I could spend my life with. Even before all the fame and people screaming your name I was there and you were my baby."

The music continued with the pair singing and dancing until it finally reached its end. Artie and Nicki were dancing around the choir room with their voices at full level now.

"I don't know bout you all, but I know about us and uh. It's the only way we know how to rock. I don't know bout you all, but I know about us and uh. It's the only way we know how to rock!"

With the performance over, Artie and Nicki turned to their audience just a second before being hit with a wave of applause. There was no denying that the two were good at what they did. Those two did a real good job at complimenting one another, which only made the other couples worry about their upcoming performances.

Sam was really worried as to what Kurt had planned for him.

* * *

><p>"I'm not singing a song from Moulin Rouge."<p>

"Well, I'm not singing some beach bum/cowboy song."

"Jason Marz is not a beach bum!" defended Sam.

"And there's nothing wrong with Moulin Rouge," defended Kurt.

For the past two hours since coming home from rehearsals, Sam and Kurt had been arguing about what song to perform for their duets. Sam was vetoing everything Kurt suggested, while Kurt did the exact same thing to him.

One would figure that Sam would do any song that Kurt suggested since he was deeply in love with said boy. But Sam did have some balls on him, and he wasn't totally willing to subject himself to some of Kurt's preferences. Just because he was doing show choir, doesn't mean he's a major fan of all these musicals the way that Kurt was.

It was like hearing two banshees screaming at each other in Stevie's book. The boy was trying to watch TV when those two invaded his space and were now preventing him from watching Snooki get her fatass arrested. That was downright infuriating as he attempted to tune them out by turning up the volume.

As for Sam, he had no idea how he was going to survive this assignment with Kurt. How could he even think about having a real romantic relationship with Kurt if they couldn't agree on a song to sing? So Sam thought about caving in for a moment until Kurt suggested a song that was completely out of his league.

"You know I can't get my voice that deep to pull it off," Sam reminded Kurt.

"Forgot," Kurt said, sighing in frustration. He ran his hands down his face, smearing part of his eyeliner in the process. He was unaware of this fact as he collapsed onto the nearest sofa. "This is ridiculous. Mercedes and I would already have a song decided and a routine halfway memorized."

"Sorry, but I'm just not big on singing songs from musicals," said Sam. "Isn't there something else we can sing, Kurt? Screw if it's not a male-male song. We can work with male-female if that's fine with you."

That opened up a few more possibilities for Kurt, but he knew that Sam would reject most of them anyways. He couldn't understand why Sam was being so difficult to work with all of a sudden. Normally, Sam would be like a puppy and all over anything that Kurt had suggested.

Sam was just a very complicated guy, not even he really got himself. He was still trying to understand why he was putting up such a fight with Kurt when he was deeply in love with the boy. All he wanted to do was kiss Kurt, which he could do even with his little brother in the room.

And speaking of little brother, Stevie finally had enough of those two. He grabbed the pillows on the couch then proceeded to throw one at the both of them. "You two are annoying the heck out of me!" shouted the thirteen year old. "Clearly, you two can't agree from your favorites so step out of your comfort zones. Why don't you just sing that song by Maroon 5 and Rihanna?"

"If I Never See Your Face Again?" said Kurt.

"That's the one!" Stevie said, turning the volume up higher.

Sam actually liked Stevie's suggestion. It was a good song, a bit of the best of both worlds. He could live with singing that song, plus it would give him the opportunity to work on seducing Kurt a bit. Well, it would help a lot of he just freaking came out of the closet to his best friend.

"What do you think?" Sam asked. "I like it."

"I think I could make it work," Kurt said, agreeing with him.

Now that they had a song decided, they got out of the living room to print the lyrics before figuring out a routine.

And with the both gone, Stevie was able to have some peace as he resumed watching Jersey Shore.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

Come Friday, everyone had already done their performances with the exception of Kurt and Sam. They were the last to go up to the stage so they knew that they had to really blow the roof off the school to make it. Kurt felt very confident in their performing ability since he drilled Sam like there was no tomorrow.

And since Kurt wanted to win that dinner at Breadsticks, there was no tomorrow for him.

With a pair of chairs that had their backs turned, Kurt and Sam took their seats as the band prepared to play the music. Everyone was watching what they would do with a great deal of curiosity. Their audience also took notice to the look of anger initially on the duet partners' faces, which they wondered if it was part of the act or not.

Those questions would be answered immediately upon the music playing. Kurt stayed in character as he waited for Sam to start singing.

Sam turned his head a bit to the back, acknowledging Kurt's existence. "Now as the summer fades, I let you slip away. You say I'm not your type, but I can make you sway. It makes you burn to learn, you're not the only one. I'd let you be if you put down your blazing gun."

Kurt nodded his head, while brushing a strand of his flawless hair aside. "Now you've gone somewhere else. Far away I don't know if I will find you, find you, find you. But you feel my breath, on your neck. Can't believe I'm right behind you, right behind you."

They both jumped up from their chairs, pushing them aside as they kicked up their performance. "'Cause you keep me coming back for more. And I feel a little better than I did before." Kurt and Sam were circling each other like hungry sharks, which really gave the song its power. "And if I never see your face again, I don't mind 'cause we gone much further than I thought we'd get tonight."

Kurt drew himself closer to Sam for a moment. He touched his chest, feeling himself from the fabric of the white cotton that he wore. "Sometimes you move so well it's hard not to give in," Kurt said, not needing to pretend that last bit. It really was hard not to just give in to the sexuality that Sam just oozed.

As Kurt danced away, Sam took him by the hand then dropped down to his knees. "I'm lost, I can't tell where you end and I begin." Sam shot Kurt the puppy dog look, which Kurt fought not to be swooned by as he pulled away.

Once more, Kurt had to do something a little sexy. Not that he was opposed to sexy; it was just a bit out of his normal, public character. "It makes you burn to learn I'm with another man."

No denying that part in Sam's book since he was burning. He tried to use the song's lyrics to his advantage though as he got behind Kurt, grabbing him by the waist. "I wonder if he's half the lover that I am."

"Now you've gone somewhere else. Far away I don't know if I will find you, find you, find you. But you feel my breath, on your neck. Can't believe I'm right behind you, right behind you."

"'Cause you keep me coming back for more. And I feel a little better than I did before. And if I never see your face again, I don't mind 'cause we gone much further than I thought we'd get tonight."

Sam, once again, dropped to his knees as he graveled towards Kurt. "Baby, baby please believe me. Find it in your heart to reach me. Promise not to leave me behind. Promise not to leave me behind."

Kurt climbed on top of one the chairs and tossed his head back. "Take me down, but take it easy. Make me think but don't deceive me. Talk to me bout taking your time, Talk to me, talk to me."

The pair got closer to each other once more with Sam lifting Kurt down from the chair. Once they were back on the ground, they started dancing together. "'Cause you keep me coming back for more. And I feel a little better than I did before." Their backs were known towards each other as they pretended to feel some aggression at one another. "And if I never see your face again, I don't mind 'cause we gone much further than I thought we'd get tonight."

Since this was the last part, there was no point containing themselves. Kurt and Sam went all out for this final chorus. "'Cause you keep me coming back for more. And I feel a little better than I did before. And if I never see your face again, I don't mind 'cause we gone much further than I thought we'd get tonight."

With the performance over, their audience had to applaud them for the song.

Mr. Schuster was impressed by the job they did. But he also threw down the gauntlet by announcing that it was time for everyone to take a vote. He started handing out note cards to everyone to sign down the couples that they liked the best.

Everyone sighed for themselves since everyone wanted to win that dinner on Breadsticks. Like how many times were you going to get your teacher to pay for dinner? That was a once in a lifetime opportunity that everyone wanted to take advantage of. Well, everyone was going to take advantage of that, except for one person who'd serve as tie breaker. And it wasn't Kurt or Sam who were the exception to this fatal rule. They were both just a bit selfish in this part.

The ballets were in and Mr. Schuster wasn't exactly thrilled. He should've known better though since these were high school kids that he was dealing with. It should've been expected.

"Alright, so it looks like everyone voted for themselves," Mr. Schuster said, sounding a little disappointed. "However, one good soul actually voted for another couple. So, the winner of our first duet competition are…" The teacher paused for dramatic effect, allowing the tension to boil over. He held up three note cards where he turned them around so that everyone could see. "Sam Evans and Kurt Hummel."

Half-hearted applause filled the air as Sam and Kurt jumped from their chairs. Kurt was thrilled to see that he actually won something, much less a duet competition with another boy. This was something he only thought would happen in his most wild of dreams. Kurt was just so excited as he hugged Sam, forgetting all about their arguing this past week.

Sam was just as thrilled as he got to hug Kurt.

The others were looking at each other, wondering who voted for Kurt and Sam to win. It was left a complete mystery to the members of the Glee Club. Mika just sat at his corner with Mercedes. He had a slight smile on his face, but not one that would get noticed for being suspicious. He did, after all, learn to keep a secret from his father.

"Great, I was too broke to afford to pay for an anniversary dinner too," grumbled Finn. "Shit! I shouldn't have bought Call of Duty." His eyes started to widened up as he realized that he shouldn't have said that.

"You bought that damn video game!" Quinn shouted, smacking Finn in the chest.

Kurt got to laugh at his future step-brother, while claiming victory. It was truly the most amazing day of his life.

Puck was eyeing Sam as he replayed their performance in his head. There was just too much shit going on during that routine. No straight guy would act that way, especially with a known gay guy. "You, Super Lips," Puck shouted at Sam, "what's your deal? Are you gay or not?"

There was a brief period of silence in the room. Mr. Schuster was about to intervene by sending Puck away when Santana got in the way.

"I'm wondering that myself," said Santana. "My gaydar is like freaking out. I just thought it was just Hummel and Valentine, but you're making me wonder too, Trouty Mouth. Are you into penis or what?"

Kurt was going to stand up for his best friend since he knew for a fact that he was straight. It really was baffling how some people could act, despite the fact that they're in a school that's very LGBT friendly. That was the main reason that Kurt had applied to Academy of the City.

Sam, however, knew that the jig was up. No point in denying who he was so he was about to give Kurt a big surprise with three words. All it would take was three words to change the status of their relationship for life.

"Yeah," said Sam, "I'm gay."

It happened just as Kurt was about to say that Sam was straight too. The fashionista had to suck in his words before they came out as he slowly turned towards that sweet southern boy. "You're gay? Since when!" Kurt said, loudly. He then wished he had sucked in those words instead of his first statement. That just sounded so wrong of him to say, considering who he was and what he had been through. "I'm sorry that was very insensitive. I mean…Sam; I've known you for years! How could you not tell me that you're gay! I told you that I was gay."

"Well…" Sam said, shrugging his shoulders, "you never asked, for starters. You just always assumed I was straight. To be fair, I never said I was straight."

Kurt had to admit that it was very true. He never did ask Sam his sexual preferences; he had only assumed that the hunky blond was straight.

This certainly changed some of the things that Kurt thought about Sam.

"Damn," Nicki said, "another good looking guy lost to Team Gay. Anyone else want to come out of the closet while we're at it? Mika, I'm talking to you."

"We've already established that I'm gay, Nicki," Mika said with a bit of venom. "Bitch."

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

The excitement that had built up nearly made Sam want to explode. It was especially true right now since Sam was getting ready to go out to Breadsticks with Kurt. This Saturday night would be by far the most memorable one of his entire life.

It was all thanks to a duet competition that Sam was finally going to go out with Kurt. Now, he just had to find out who voted for them so that he could thank the mystery person. He was so thrilled that he felt like his brain was going to implode at any moment. It was safe to assume that Sam was feeling a little explosive at this point.

Sam was going to have to meet Kurt at the restaurant since he was running a little behind. That could be a problem since Breadsticks required reservations to be made on the weekends in order to get a table.

"Yeah, we won the dinner at Breadsticks," Sam said, smiling. His phone was plastered against his ear as he spoke to Blaine. The Warbler was very curious as to how the duet competition went. "I can't believe it's finally happening, Blaine. I'm going to have dinner at the best restaurant in town with the most beautiful boy in the entire world."

"Well Sammy, you sure now how to make a guy feel better about himself," said Blaine. "So where do I rank in this hierarchy of prettiness? Clearly, I'm not good enough to be on top of that totem pole."

Sam chuckled a little bit as he put on his freshly, ironed shirt. He had to look pretty impressive for Kurt if he was going to snag him away from Dave. Not that it would be difficult, but if Kurt really liked the guy then it would be.

The green really did bring out the color in his eyes. He also made sure to shrug a coat over that to look extra amazing. Breadsticks did have a bit of a dress code so this was all pretty much required.

"You get second place, Blaine," Sam told him. "You're five people above Taylor Lautner and six above Zac Efron."

"Now I feel better," Blaine said, cheerfully. "Good luck on your date."

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

As it was beginning to get a little later, Kurt was getting ready to put on the finishing touches to his outfit. He had gotten held up at his dad's auto shop since his dad was finishing replacing the tires onto his Explorer. Kurt wanted to roll up to Breadsticks in style, but he knew that their dinner would be jeopardized if they had to wait solely on Kurt.

Breadsticks was a very busy restaurant and they didn't wait long on their reservations.

Kurt finished fixing up his hair before putting on his shirt. He felt very pretty right now as he applauded all his hard work from his bedroom mirror. He walked pass his Diva Wall as he retrieved a coat to throw over his shirt to keep him warm and stylish.

Just as Kurt was getting ready to leave the house there was a ring coming from the front door. He grabbed the keys to his car and his cell phone before running to the door as the ringing continued. Since it was only him in the house, Kurt really did need to answer that. When he opened the door, Kurt saw that it was Dave standing on the other side with his letterman on and his hair a short mess. If only Kurt had a comb on hand right now he'd work on fixing those little, baby curls.

"Hi babe," Kurt said, sweetly. He leaned towards Dave, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to hang out with Azimio tonight?"

"I was," Dave said, stepping inside. He closed the door gently behind him as he kept his eyes on Kurt. His hands were soon stuffed into his pocket with a slightly grave look in his face that worried Kurt. "I heard that the Sam guy you sung a duet with is gay and now you're going to have dinner with him."

Kurt had a feeling this would come around to bite him in the ass. No problem though, it wasn't a big issue and he was confident enough in himself that he could diffuse this bomb before anything serious happened. So Kurt just played his adorable cards as he leaned towards Dave, placing both of his hands on his chubby boy's chest.

"Sam isn't an issue, Dave," said Kurt. "Yes, he's gay, but there's nothing to worry about. Sam is Sam. We're just friends."

"I don't trust him," Dave said, firmly. "I want you to stay the hell away from him!"

The anger behind his voice frightened Kurt as he took a step back. He never saw Dave react in such a manner. Sure, Sam was a bit of a sensitive subject to Dave, but he never imagined that it could lead to such a behavior.

It was downright disturbing. Kurt knew that if he didn't nip this in the bud then it could only get worse.

"You can't tell me who I can and can't hang out with, David Karofsky!" Kurt shouted back. "Sam's my best friend and if I want to have dinner with him then I will."

Kurt had ended the subject and was going to walk out the door when Dave grabbed him. It wasn't an ordinary move though. The strong grip that Dave had on him had literally scared the Hell out of Kurt. The next thing that he knew was that he was pinned against the wall with Dave's eyes burning with rage.

Dave pushed his full weight against Kurt's lithe frame, keeping the smaller boy from getting away from him. Dave slammed one of his hands against the wall to create a startling noise that made Kurt jump from his skin. "You will listen to me, bitch!" Dave shouted, angrily. "You will do as I say when I say it! Understood?"

Unsure of just how far Dave could and would take this, Kurt's survival instincts began to take over. Kurt started to nod his to signal Dave that he understood words he said. With that act of submission, Dave started to smirk as he took Kurt's cell phone from the fitted pants that he wore.

Sending out a text to Sam, pretending to be Kurt, Dave did what needed to be done. He then dragged Kurt out of the house and to his car. Kurt saw that crazy, psycho Dave that showed up just now had gone away as soon as they got inside of the car.

But still, Kurt knew that he was venturing into dangerous territory, and he didn't know how he'd escape.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

Breadsticks was a very nice restaurant to have dinner with somebody that you loved. It was decorated like any other Italian restaurant, but it did have a calming, caring atmosphere. All the servers were perfectly polite, the food was to die for, and you couldn't beat the unlimited breadsticks. That's what Sam found himself stuffing his face in as he waited for Kurt to show up.

Twenty minutes had already passed and Kurt had yet to show up. Sam was getting a little concerned until his phone began to vibrate at full blast. He looked at his phone to see that it was a text from Kurt. It read that he couldn't make it because he had a bit of car trouble so he wouldn't be able to make it.

Sam stared at the phone and read it between the lines. What the message really meant that Sam was being stood up.

He couldn't believe that Kurt was doing this to him. They won the duet competition like he wanted, yet Kurt was going to be a no show. Kurt was standing him up with this lame and pathetic excuse. If Kurt really did have car troubles then he would have called not sent this horrid text message to Sam.

Maybe this was Kurt's way of letting Sam down easy.

Sam felt as stupid as he sat alone at this table, realizing that he was being completely delusional about ever being with Kurt. It would never happen. Kurt loved Dave and Dave loved Kurt. There was no point in Sam trying to get Kurt to like him any longer.

Sam took another breadstick from the basket as he sat there like a fool. He could never be with the boy that he loved so he just needed to accept that and move on with his life. He couldn't wait to be with somebody that would never love him back.

"I'm a darn fool," Sam said, dropping the bread into the basket. He might as well just walk out and leave now before he looked even more like an idiot.

As the pity party continued, one of the hostesses started walking over towards Sam's table. She noticed the pitiful look on his face and felt a little guilty about having to do this to him. "I'm sorry, sir, but we're going to need this table," said the hostess.

It looked like Sam's party was really going to get worse. Now, he was just a pathetic fool who was getting kicked out because said date never showed up. "Alright," Sam said, beginning to stand, "can I get a box for the rest of these breadsticks though?" Right about now, Sam really hated Mr. Schuster for giving them this damn, duet assignment.

"Samuel, my love! So sorry I'm late."

Making his way across the restaurant, Blaine made his way into the picture with a cheery smile on his face. He was dressed to kill in his suit as he walked over to the table that Sam was at. "Traffic was brutal," Blaine said. He closed up towards Sam, kissing the blond on the lips.

The hostess briefly smiled as she pulled out a chair for Blaine to sit. He thanked her as he took a menu, beginning to look, while Sam continued to stand still like a statue.

Blaine raised an eyebrow as he tore his eyes away from the menu. "Samuel, sit down and close your mouth," said Blaine. "Do you already know what you want to eat? I think the chicken alfredo is just to die for."

"What are you doing here?" Sam asked, sitting down. "Did you know?"

"I wanted to meet this fabulous Kurt Hummel, but since Sandra tried to kick you out, it's obvious he was a no show. Nobody stands up my southern stud and make him look like a darn fool," said Blaine. He returned his focus onto the menu, looking for something delicious to eat. The chicken alfredo was looking good, but so was this lasagna. "Great, now I have no idea what I want to eat."

Sam could only smile as he held back the urge to cry. The southern boy took in a deep breath to calm down his battered heart. "You're a great friend, Blaine," said Sam. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Blaine started to smirk as he finally made a decision. He closed the menu and placed it down onto the table before reaching over to take Sam's hand. "And you never have to worry about that," said the older boy. "You'll never get rid of me that easily. You and I are friends for life." He took the glass of water that had a majority of his ice completely melted. Oh well, Blaine could make the most out of this. "Cheers."

"Cheers," Sam said, clinking his glass of water against his.

As shitty as Sam felt thanks to Kurt, he knew that he'd get through this with Blaine's help.

What Sam needed to focus on was training to be a hero for this city and finding someone who'd actually love him.

* * *

><p>Songs featured:<p>

"My Boo" Usher feat. Alicia Keys

"If I Never See Your Face Again" Maroon 5 feat. Rihanna


	4. I'll Save You

**Author's Note: **So...do you guys like the story? Haven't really been getting very many reviews yet all these story alerts and favorites are coming in. That doesn't help me much though. Reviews are what help me write a better story for you all! So send me some dang reviews or even PM me! That helps a lot when I got my writer's block kicking in. Anyways, Sam will finally make his big debut in this chapter. Also, those of you wondering about super powered villains, they will show up in later chapters. Right now, I want to get you used to Sam and whatever super powered companions he might gain. Now...READ AND REVIEW!**  
><strong>

**I'll Save You:**

(Kurt)

Things were significantly different between Sam and Kurt since the Breadsticks event. Kurt being a no show had its consequences, even though these actions were not of his free-will. Had it been possible, Kurt would've made it to that dinner had Dave not interfered. Now, Kurt had to be on his best behavior in order to avoid dealing with some serious consequences.

It was all so terrifying for Kurt as he sat in the choir room at the usually empty side. He purposely sat away from everyone, which all the members of Glee took as Kurt being in one of his moods. Kurt didn't even want to look at Sam who would no doubt want an explanation for what happened on Saturday night. The young Hummel was well aware of what message Dave sent when pretending to be him so Kurt had details ready to go.

Still, Kurt didn't want to have to talk to Sam if it wasn't necessary. As much as it pained him to avoid being around his oldest and best friend, Kurt valued his life far more than that. He was much too afraid to pay for the consequences, even telling anyone about what Dave had threatened to do to him was out of the question. That paralyzing fear, the fear that kept people locked away in the vicious cycle of abuse had Kurt in its clutches.

When Dave had dragged Kurt away that night, it wasn't for good things. Even though, Kurt hadn't been a virgin for five months now, the sex was still significantly painful. Dave knew that sex was always a little painful for Kurt and he had usually respected that. Whenever Dave was gentle with him, the pain always passed and Kurt would be able to enjoy himself. That night…Dave didn't care, he didn't care about Kurt's feelings. Dave just wanted Kurt to see that he was in complete control and he could do whatever it was that he wanted to do.

Kurt scrubbed and scrubbed until his skin was bright red, but he couldn't get rid of the grim. He felt so dirty, pathetic even as he drowned in this mess. There was no sign either that he'd find his way to the surface.

So for now…Kurt just felt that he had to suffer through this until Dave either got bored or got caught.

If that meant that he couldn't be around Sam then so be it. Kurt hated it, he hated knowing that he was hurting Sam, but it had to be done.

Kurt briefly eyed Sam at the chair that he was sitting on. The southern boy was up in the front with Santana and Brittany sitting on his sides. Even though those two knew that Sam was gay, it still didn't stop their usual behavior. Despite it being that it was totally obvious that those two were lesbian for each other. That much, Kurt kept locked away to himself as he felt it disgusting to out someone unwillingly.

Besides, Kurt had his own demons to wrestle with.

"Alright, guys, Sectionals are almost here," said Mr. Schuster. "In about two weeks, I'll get a letter from the committee telling us this year's theme and our competition. We'll have almost two weeks to gather a list of songs and devise a whole dance routine around it. So, we'll have to work extra hard these coming weeks."

"There is a bit of good news that you forgot to mention, Mr. Schu," announced Rachel. "Vocal Adrenaline lost their coach and there wasn't enough time to find a replacement. That means they can't compete with us at all and it gives us a big opening to win Nationals!"

"Finally," said Puck. "If we were going to lose again, I swore that I'd quit this damn club."

"Ease up on the angst, Puckzilla," said Nicki. "There's enough tension in the room already. We don't need your negative vibes clouding up the place too."

Puck rolled his eyes at her, while Rachel decided to make another move at taking over the club. This happened just when Mr. Schuster was going to give an assignment too. Kurt knew that this was the point where he'd just tune things out since moments like this tended to lead to Santana threatening to go "all Lima Heights" on Rachel.

Kurt closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pushing away the fear that was building up inside of him since Dave was his ride home.

As Kurt fought a panic attack, Mika watched him from the other end of the room. Mika was kept fairly hidden thanks to Mike's tallness. He stared at Kurt, sensing a troubling storm that was brewing within him. It made him a little sad to see this, especially since he could feel that Sam wanted to help but couldn't.

It was all so depressing and troubling. Mika knew it wasn't his place to so he figured it to be wiser to just stay out of things.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

Blinds closed and the door locked, Sam brought together the crime-fighting outfit that he planned on wearing. He stayed on his bed as he looked at the outfit he assembled to keep his identity a secret from the psychos of New York City. A lot of things could go wrong if he failed to hide that he was Sam Evans from the criminals he would go out to face.

The visions weren't as strong as they were the first few days. Instead of eyeing nearly every little crime that was out there, they started to calm to where Sam could narrow down the list. Some of the visions showed an entire network of criminal organizations, while others would simply show a mugging.

Sam had one vision that stood out to him, one that he knew he was able to prevent. He saw a young couple being ambushed by a couple of thugs. They dragged the couple into one of the alleyways, the man would try to fight, but he would end up being shot in the head. As for the woman…it disgusted Sam to even see what happened to her. It wasn't bad enough that she was mugged by them, but the five men then began to rape her before shooting her in the head as well.

Sam knew he had to prevent that from happening. He would fight to save their lives.

Before it got too late, Sam gathered his clothes and hid stuffed them into a backpack. He already had his excuse ready to go. He'd take advantage of being in the Glee Club by telling his mom that he was going to rehearse with some of the guys. Pretending that he was going over to Kurt's was out of the question.

For starters, it would be obvious that Sam wasn't at Kurt's house. Plus, his family knew that something was going on between the two. Since Breadsticks, Sam hasn't talked to Kurt at all. In Sam's defense, he did try to talk to Kurt that next day, but Kurt was actually avoiding him. Sam didn't understand what he did to upset Kurt and he couldn't find out if Kurt wouldn't talk to him.

So Sam would just have to give up on trying to communicate with Kurt until his neighbor was willing to talk.

As much as it sucked, this was something that Sam would have to deal with. He loved Kurt and he cared about Kurt more than anything, but it would never happen. Kurt had Dave so there was no purpose in trying to break them up. Sam needed to worry more about being a hero instead of using his superpowers to stalk Kurt.

"I'm taking off!" Sam shouted as he made a break for the front door.

"Be careful, Sammy," his mom called after him.

Sam closed the front door behind him and slung the backpack over his shoulder. He quickly made his way down the road before finding an empty alleyway to disappear into. With the sun gone from the sky, Sam found a covered spot to change.

He quickly stripped out of all his clothes until he was just in his underwear. He even had his shoes off but stood on top of them since he didn't want to touch the disgusting concrete. He pulled out a pair of tight, black jeans and quickly put those one so he'd be a little less naked. He slipped on a pair of gloves on each hand to keep his fingerprints from getting him caught. Next, he threw a black, v-neck shirt before slinging on his black jacket. His entire body was covered in black to kind of help him blend in and to make him a little more frightening to the bad guys of New York.

Lastly, Sam put a simple ski-mask in to complete the outfit he had assembled.

Considering that he didn't have much of a budget, Sam felt that he did pretty good at assembling this outfit. He zipped up the backpack and hid it behind a few empty boxes before taking off to where the thugs were going to set up their ambush.

Sam needed to hurry if he was going to save some lives.

But even with all those powers, Sam was oblivious to the figure watching him from the rooftop of a nearby building.

Running on top of rooftops and jumping to the next building, Sam moved as quickly as he could to his destination. He needed to reach Jefferson and 23rd Street before eight thirty. If he didn't then his vision would come true and two lives would be lost.

His jacket freely blew in the wind as he got closer to where he needed to be. The hero-in-training prayed that he wouldn't be too late as he jumped over the intersecting streets. He was able to spot them from the corner of his eyes.

A giggling couple was silenced as a group of men dragged them into an alleyway. Sam jumped from the rooftop where he took flight before landing on the ground. Slowly, Sam flew towards the ground just as one of the thugs pulled out a gun and pointed it at the man's head. And just as the trigger was about to be pulled, Sam made his dramatic entrance where he caught the armed wrist of the thug.

Sam pushed the arm above the thug's head just as the trigger was pulled. "Didn't your mother teach you not to play with guns?" asked Sam. "You could shoot yourself with that." Quickly, he disarmed the man by shattering his elbow. It caused a great deal of pain and forced him to drop the gun, which Sam caught before it could shoot somebody.

With one down, there were only four more thugs that needed to be taught a lesson. Sam spun around to see that the thugs lost interest in the couple and were now zeroing on him. That was a good sign, he just needed to play keep away with the thugs before kicking their sorry asses.

At that moment, Sam let out a deep breath, which allowed his instincts to take over him. Two fists were coming after him as this side of Sam's heroic persona was unlocked. Sam leaned his torso back with the two men stumbling forward as their balance was lost due to Sam's movement.

Exploiting this advantage, Sam knocked the men in the ribs before dragging them down to the ground. He pulled himself back together just as the other two decided that they wanted to play. Sam was more than ready as the two tried to rush him.

He twisted his body around, leaning from side to side to avoid getting hit. When the thugs were beginning to pant from exhaustion, Sam knew that he had them where he wanted them. Sam grabbed one of their arms just as another managed to hit Sam across the face. That blow was easily recovered from and Sam returned the favor by kicking the guy in the hip. Returning to his buddy, Sam broke the arm of the thug that he was hanging onto. He pushed his fist up, hearing a loud crunch in the process.

To finish him off, Sam punched him across the face to knock him out because the screaming was getting annoying.

The guy he kicked along with one of the injured ribs guys were back up on their feet. The thug with the injured ribs was virtually limping over to, which Sam thought was a little pathetic. He finished off that guy by jumping into the air where he kicked the guy in the chin. The thug stayed down after that, while his buddy tried to sneak up on Sam from behind. Sam's instincts were far better than the thug's stealth so he was easily able to knock the thug out. All it took was an elbow to the face then a hammer fist to the hip bone, which cracked on impact.

The last of the guys turned out to be the first guy that Sam dealt with. Though his elbow was broken and he was now without a gun that didn't stop him from drawing out a knife. The woman from the couple that Sam saved let out a shriek at that point that caught Sam's attention. He felt the thug coming up on him with his six sense signaling him off the impending doom.

Sam threw himself towards the wall, which he ran on before flipping back so that he was no behind the thug. With the thug caught off guard, Sam finished this by kicking the thug in the back. Enough force was applied that the thug ended up flying towards the wall, which he crashed into and slipped into a very unconscious state.

"And that makes five," Sam said, cheering for himself. "I took down five thugs at once, not bad for the first night out."

The young man turned towards the couple he just saved with a smile behind the ski mask that he wore. He noticed that the two appeared frightened by him, which was probably justified considering the clothes that he wore. Now that he thought about it, Sam really needed to start funding for better clothes for his heroic deeds. Whatever looked he had planned was seriously clashing with the criminal/vigilante look.

Sam held his hands up, gesturing to the couple that he wasn't there to try and attack them. "You don't have to be afraid of me, I'm a good guy," said Sam. "I had a vision that you two were going to be in danger, turns out I was right. You're safe now so I suggest that you two go home where you'll be safe."

The couple was still shaking in fear even after Sam's explanation. He wasn't sure exactly what he should do next. He did the comforting 'you're safe' bit. In the comics, this was usually where the rescued either thanked the hero or took off screaming at the top of their lungs. Sam wasn't sure how to deal with the silent treatment that never appeared in the comics.

Well, it did, but that was usually accompanied by fainting.

And speaking of fainting, the guy's girlfriend ended up fainting in her arms. "Cassie!" said the young man as he caught her. He used all his strength to hold her up until she woke up.

Sam went over to the couple where he helped the young man hold up his girlfriend. The young man actually welcomed Sam's assistance as the super powered teen led them out of the alley and back to the road.

"What…what are you?" asked the young man. "You showed up from nowhere and you took those guys out like they were nothing."

"They are nothing," corrected Sam. "Criminals are sub-human at best, especially those who murder and rape. I foresaw what those bastards would do to you and your girlfriend, I couldn't allow them to get away with that."

The young man gulped as Sam and him placed his girlfriend on the bench. Already, they could faintly hear the police sirens that signaled that someone heard the gunshot and/or the fighting. It didn't hurt that the guy's girlfriend had an impressive set of lungs on her.

"You should probably go," said the young man. He looked at Sam one last time though and held out his hand. "Thank you for saving our lives. I don't even want to think about how things would've turned out if you hadn't saved us."

The teenager took the man's hand and shook it with a sense of pride swelling up in him. He had done something really god, this one act made a difference for a crime-ridden city. "And you'll never have to," said Sam. "Just take care of each other."

"We will," said the young man. "About the cops…they'll want to know. Should I tell them what you did?"

"That would probably be a good idea," said Sam. "It's best to put the blame on the wannabe superhero."

"Who are you then?" asked the young man. "What do you call yourself?"

Sam paused for a moment. Of all the superhero things he had thought of, a name was the last thing that had come to mind. He cursed himself for failing to think of a alias for himself. That's like the first thing every superhero that's worth the tights they wear should do.

Lucky for him, Sam was a quick thinker so one thing did come to mind.

"Justice," said the teen. "You can call me Justice."

With that said, Justice took off as the lights of the police cars finally made it to the scene.

Tonight, two lives were saved and five criminals had been taken down. Justice considered this to be very successful as he returned home before anyone got too suspicious of him.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

"Around eight-thirty last night, a young couple from Queens was attacked by a group of muggers. The couple, Benjamin Bradley age twenty-five and Linda Stevenson age twenty-four, was taken into an alleyway where one of the muggers held up a gun to Benjamin's head, demanding his wallet and Linda's purse. Before the trigger was pulled, Benjamin and Linda were saved by a mysterious, young man."

"This young man managed to disarm the mugger then single-handedly fought all five of the men into submission before escorting Benjamin and Linda out of the alley. Linda had fainted and remained in that state until police arrived to the scene after one of the tenants at a nearby building reported hearing a gunshot. Benjamin remained conscious and even spoke to this young man. From his account, Benjamin said that this young man is a superhero who foresaw the couple being in danger and called himself Justice. Also, considering the damage that this Justice did to the muggers, doctors say the injuries sustained were unbelievable. Doctors report that the way the bones were broken would've required a significant amount more force than an average human could produce."

"Now, if this Justice really is a superhero or some fan boy dressed up as one is up for debate. The Queens Police Department is asking for assistance in locating Justice. But from what Benjamin's account, he calls this young man a hero and owes their lives to him. I'm Penelope Vasquez, and that concludes the crime report, back to you Cindy and Devon."

Kurt dropped his spoon after hearing the full report from Channel Five News. He was in complete awe that somebody was actually declaring themselves a superhero and ran around saving lives. This literally sounded like the plot of every single superhero movie out there, which was what really made Kurt scratch his head in confusion.

There was something fishy about this, but Kurt couldn't exactly put his nose to it. This was interesting to say, nonetheless. Kurt wondered if this guy really had superpowers or if the guy was just really well-trained. From what the witness had said, it could be very possible that this Justice could very well be the real deal. Who was Kurt to deny the existence of superhuman beings? Granted, this meant that Sam and his brother's superhero obsession were completely justified by these developments.

And there it came.

Kurt had gone through most of his morning routine without thinking about Sam. Now, he was stuck thinking about his best friend and next door neighbor. It brought tears to Kurt's eyes as he thought about how his boyfriend had forbidden him from being around Sam. As much as Kurt loved to be around Sam and how things just always felt better, Kurt wasn't about to risk his life just to hang out with Sam.

Dave…Kurt just couldn't understand what was going on in that head of his. Dave had gone to the deep end of the pool and lost all control over himself. This wasn't the same David Karofsky that Kurt had fallen madly in love with last year. This wasn't the sweet boy who held the doors for him, who would hold his books, or bought him the chicken soup that he liked when he was sick with the flu.

No, something caused his David to snap into this complete lunatic. Kurt couldn't understand why this had to happen now of all times. There were no prior signs of this that Kurt could think of as he tried to piece this all together.

Somehow, by Sam announcing he was gay, it caused Dave to go nuts. Now, Kurt had to suffer the physical and emotional consequences of this. Kurt never imagined himself in this type of situation, but he couldn't think of a way out. Even if he told his dad right now, there was no guarantee his safety. Dave could easily overpower his dad due to Burt Hummel's heart condition. Even hearing that his son was in danger could push Burt over the edge and trigger a fatal heart attack.

Losing his father was something that Kurt couldn't allow to happen. Kurt had to face this demon on his own, but he just didn't know how to though.

And speak of the Devil, Kurt saw his phone vibrating across the table. A picture of him with the old Dave kissing appeared on the screen. Kurt's hand started to tremble as he reached out to answer his phone before he made Dave wait too long.

"Hi babe," Kurt said, pretending to be fine. "What's up?"

"I just needed to let you know that I can't drive you to school today," said Dave. "I have to take my brothers to school since my mom isn't feeling well."

"That's fine," said Kurt. "I can take the bus or I could get Mercedes to pick me up. I never did renew my parking permit for school."

"Alright," Dave said, sounding perfectly calm. "I'll see you at school then. Love you."

"I love you too," Kurt said, hanging up the phone.

The sick thing was that Kurt actually meant those words. He did love Dave, he just wished that Dave could go back to being who he used to be. This new Dave was dangerous and terrified Kurt to the ends of the world.

Kurt tried to put on his old mask for the world as he finished the rest of his breakfast before taking off to wait for the bus.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

That morning, Sam heard the news reports and was completely stoked about it. He was going completely bonkers as he freaking about people knowing about what he did last night. He didn't realize he would be found out so soon, he figured it would take a few more heroic actions to get any real publicity.

At school, the entire student body was talking about Justice. There were debates in the hall going on if this Justice really was some kind of superhero or just some dumbass in a costume. Some of the harsher words nearly got under Sam's skin, but he kept quite enough where he didn't bust himself out. That was even after he heard some of the crueler comments from some of the bigger jerks at the school.

But Sam survived this day with only minimal damage to his superhero pride.

With two weeks until Sectionals, things were getting a little tense in the club. Not so much that there was infighting, but more about the gleeks getting pushed overtime. Right now, they were all stuck at "Booty Camp" in the April Rhodes Civic Pavilion to perfect their dance moves.

Mr. Schuster was leading the pack with Mike serving as his assistant. This was mostly for the members who's dancing wasn't as strong as the others. That was mainly targeted for Finn since he was the worst dancer in the entire club. He had a decent singing voice and some leadership skills, but dancing was just so not even close to being a talent of his.

Now for Sam, he was actually a fairly decent dancer, he always had been. His mom taught him some formal dances when he was a kid, which he also thought to Stevie so he wouldn't be terrible like Finn. As for the more modern stuff, Sam didn't dance like a typical, white boy so he didn't have to worry about being called a fool. With a little more practice, he might be able to dance almost as well as Mike Chang.

Right now, the music playing was some hip-hop song, which allowed the gleeks to have a little more freestyle fun. Sam briefly glanced over at Kurt who was purposely avoiding his eyes. It pained Sam to see this as he failed to see why Kurt was behaving in such a way.

So Sam ignored Kurt, avoiding looking at the fairer teen as he danced with Rachel and Mercedes. Sam joined Brittany for a moment, spinning her around, which she thought was really fun before sending her after Puck. He slid on the ground where he stopped only a few inches away from Mika.

The freshman smirked as he held a hand out to the blond. Sam accepted the help as he used mostly his weight to pry himself up and used Mika to keep steady. Feeling a little bold, Sam placed a hand on Mika's waist then used one arm to move Mika around him, slowly and sensuously.

Mika blushed as he got back on his own feet. He pulled away from Sam's grip with his hands briefly touching those biceps, which made the smaller teen shiver.

The music came to an end and Mr. Schuster told them that they could start going home. He kicked them out of the auditorium since the custodians would need to start cleaning very soon.

Sam went over to his duffel bag like everyone else did, looking for his water bottle. He pulled it out and glugged about half of it before cleaning the sweat from his forehead with his muscle tee. As he got back on his feet, Sam grabbed his duffel and was about ready to take off when he saw Mika standing behind him.

"You're a pretty good dancer," Mika said, softly. "Did you take dancing lessons?"

"Not really," Sam said with a cheesy grin on his face. "My mom is obsessed with dancing though. She didn't want her sons to have two left feet so she thought us both the classics. I can waltz, tango, foxtrot, and rumba."

Mika started to chuckle as he held onto the straps of his backpack. "So you're a man of many talents," said the younger boy. He ran a hand through his sweaty bangs before wiping that funk on his t-shirt. "Well, it was nice dancing with you for a little bit, Sam. I'll see you tomorrow."

Sam nodded his head for a second, a smile still on his face. He had to admit that Mika was pretty adorable and from what he saw the kid was pretty sweet. Not to mention, it was painfully obvious to Sam that Mika had a crush on him.

Sam looked back where he saw Kurt flying out of their like a bat out of Hell. A sigh escaped his lips when he thought about this. He could never have Kurt and there was no point spending the rest of his high school years miserably alone. It was clear that Mika was into him so why not see if something could possibly blossom from this?

"Wait a second, Mika," Sam said as the auditorium cleared out.

Mika was about halfway to the door when Sam stopped him. He faced the junior with a confused expression on his face as he tried to figure out what Sam could want with him. "Yeah Sam?" asked the younger teen. "Is there something you need?"

"Kinda," Sam said. A blush started to form on the tan-skinned boy's face. He reclaimed his cool and superhero confidence as he looked Mika in the eyes. "I was wondering if you'd like to go out with me on a date this Saturday. No pressure or anything, I was just curious."

"Sure!" Mika said, a little too quickly. The boy felt a bit foolish for jumping into that and sounding a little too eager. But this was Samuel Evans, he was easily one of the hottest guys in the school. Not to mention, Mika could tell that Sam was a generally good guy that was practically impossible to find in high school. "I'd like that."

"Cool," Sam said, nodding his head. "Let me give you my number. You can call pretty much whenever." He took out a notebook from his backpack along with a pen. He quickly jotted down his cell phone number before handing it over to Mika. "Just let me know what time is good for you and I'll figure something out."

"Alright," Mika said, still smiling.

The two finally made it out of the auditorium just as Mr. Schuster was doubling back for his forgotten bag.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

Kurt had doubled back to the auditorium to retrieve the sweater that he had left behind. Gaga forgive him for leaving his Marc Jacobs sweater behind. There was no way that he was going to let the cashmere beauty get taken by some loser and used as a tissue.

When he went back, he found the sweater at the seat he left it with his backpack and duffel. Kurt sighed with relief as he retrieved his eggplant beauty. He hugged his sweater and was about to take off when he caught sight of Sam and Mika. He was far away enough where they didn't notice him, but close enough to catch what Sam said.

"I was wondering if you'd like to go out on a date with this Saturday?" said Sam.

Mika's response would be left unknown to Kurt as he left the auditorium as quickly as he could without making a scene. He held back all the urges he had to scream and cry. Kurt got away from the auditorium, avoiding Mr. Schuster was he went back to lock things up.

Kurt stopped himself about halfway down the hall, feeling utterly ridiculous. Sam was a big boy, he could choose to be with whoever he wanted. Kurt shouldn't be jealous or angry at Sam for that. Just because Kurt had made the wrong chose by being with Dave didn't mean that Kurt could blame Sam for that.

Still…Kurt couldn't help but to wonder what things could've been like if he was dating Sam instead of Dave.

Those thoughts were expelled immediately as Kurt saw Dave coming down the hall. The boy pushed aside all thoughts of Sam so that he could focus on keeping Dave happy. There was no telling how bad things could turn if Dave wasn't in a good mood.

So far, things seemed like they would go pretty well. Dave seemed like he was pretty calm so that meant football practice went well for him. Kurt thanked his lucky stars for that as he walked up to Dave. "You ready to go?" asked the smaller boy.

"Yeah," Dave said, taking his hand. Kurt walked beside Dave with his head looking down to the ground. This didn't go unnoticed by Dave who purposely bumped him to get Kurt's attention. "What's wrong with you? Are you not feeling well?"

"I'm fine just really tired," Kurt said, softly. "It's been a long day."

"Alright," said Dave. "Let's get you home then."

For a moment, Kurt could see traces of the old Dave coming up to the surface. This was the kind, caring David that Kurt had fallen in love with. That was the David that he had given his first kiss to and lost his virginity with.

But now things were very different.

In the blink of the eye, Dave had completely changed. He was no longer that guy, he could become a monster at the drop the dime.

Kurt had no idea what he was going to do as he followed Dave to the parking lot.

This wasn't the type of life that Kurt was expecting to live when he finally got a boyfriend. He thought things could only go up, not tragically down.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

After boldly asking Mika out on a date, Sam had a vision of a home invasion that would take place that night. The adrenaline was already pumping as he saw a boy and his mother being tied down, while everything was taken from their apartment in The Bronx. The look of fear on their faces as they worried what these robbers could possibly do to them was terrifying for Sam and was enough to make his blood boil.

Sam prepared for this as soon as he got home. There was no need to worry about anyone being suspicious since his uncle would be home very late and his mom was taking Stevie to the mall to buy some clothes for a ceremony he had to go to. Sam easily got everyone thinking that he was super tired and was going to crash out for the rest of the night. This insured that nobody would disturb him, giving him the opportunity to prepare for tonight's rescue mission.

When the sun had finally set over Brooklyn, the blond headed boy crept out from the back door. He made sure that it was locked up before taking off in superhuman speed with his backpack nearly flying off his shoulders. Sam was in the middle of Queens before he finally stopped to change out of his clothes. He found a nice, high rooftop to change on before leaving his backpack there for safekeeping. After taking a mental photograph of this spot, Justice took flight as he went to The Bronx at full speed.

Outside of an apartment building, Justice landed on the ground. He saw a group of shady looking men enter the building when he took notice of a fire escape. Replaying the vision, Justice saw the room and floor number of the family in danger. Justice jumped towards the fire escape and made his way up to the fifth floor in almost record timing.

He was just in time too as the door was broken open by force. Lucky for him, one of the windows was already opened so he ripped the screen off before getting inside.

The young mother pulled her son away from the incoming robbers, screaming at the top of her lungs. One of the robbers managed to grab her, while another pulled her son away from her. There were only four men from what Justice could count so he knew that this would be pretty easy to deal with.

Sneaking around the corner, the young hero stepped into plain sight. The robbers quickly took notice of him and even appeared a little frightened by his presence. "Didn't anyone tell you that breaking and entering is a crime," said Justice.

"Who is this freak?" shouted the leader of the pack

"Not one of ours, boss," said one of his flunkies.

The hero smirked from the mask he wore as he cracked his knuckles. "I'm Justice, you might not have heard of me," said the young man. "But I guarantee you this, you're in for a world of hurting. I don't like it when thugs like you try to take advantage of good people."

"Get this son of a bitch!" shouted their boss.

Three out of the four went after Justice at once. The mother and her son were forgotten in the madness as fighting soon took over the small apartment. Justice didn't forget about them though, not even while he caught sight of their ring leader making his escape.

Justice jumped above their heads, grabbing hold of his legs so not to damage the ceiling. Upon landing, the teen kicked the robber in the middle in the back. The one on the right was quicker about turning around to face Justice, which only got him a fist full of pain. Justice punched the man in the face, breaking his nose and left him a bloody mess.

The other robber managed to hit Justice in the shoulder before drawing a knife from his pocket. The sharp blade was about to cut into the young hero's side, but Justice twisted his body around, using one of the dance moves he learned from Mike that day. With his guard back up, Justice fractured the wrist that held the knife before striking the knee of his opponent. The man fell to the ground, withering in pain.

Lastly, the first guy that Justice had taken down decided to get back up on his feet. That was a big mistake for him since Justice was ready for this. He kicked the guy in the chest this time, hitting him with chest and back pain that would last for days.

Now he was assured that all three were down for the count when he took notice of a rope that one of them carried. This gave him a brilliant idea as he used it to tie up the robbers instead of its original purpose of tying up a mother and her child. Once Justice was satisfied by the tightness and security of the rope, he went over to check on the little family he had rescued.

The mother was shaking in terror, while muttering something in Spanish. Justice didn't quite understand what she was saying, but he understood enough to tell that she was praying. As for the little boy, he just wide-eyed and amazed by what he just saw.

"Are you a superhero?" asked the little boy. "Like Spiderman or Wolverine?"

"I'm trying to be," Justice said, smiling at the kid. "I go by Justice." He looked back at the window that he kind of damaged a bit. It was just the screen, which wouldn't be too much trouble to fix. "Tell your mom that I'll pay to fix your window screen."

"Oh thank you, Lord!" the mother cried as she noticed the men tied up. She was full of tears as she looked up at Justice, while keeping both her arms around her son as she squeezed him tight. "You saved us. You stopped those men."

"Not a problem," said Justice. "Sorry about the window screen again. I have to hurry and catch their boss before he gets too far away though. I promise I'll pay to fix that."

The little boy cheered Justice on as he ran out of the apartment. Justice informed one of the neighbors of what just happened and told him to call the cops before finally getting out of the building.

Once outside, Justice saw the parked car that the robbers drove with haul ass down the street. He knew that their ring leader was trying to get away that miserable coward. It made his blood boil over as he started to run after the car before throwing himself into the air where he took flight.

In the air, Justice was able to keep his eyes on the car while the driver tried to make his getaway. So long as he had the power, Justice wasn't about to make it easy for this criminal to get away from him. He kept on the driver's tail until he drove onto an empty stretch of road. With no civilians in the immediate area, Justice went in for the kill.

Justice landed on the roof of the car with a loud thump. The driver heard this and panicked because of this. Before he could slam onto his breaks, Justice slammed his boot into the windshield to cause it to crack. This really made the driver have to stop since he could no longer see where he was going. With this opening, Justice was able to put an end to this game out cat and mouse.

"You're in trouble, buddy," Justice said, jumping off the car. He grabbed onto the door handle where he ripped it off the hinges. The man inside was practically crapping himself when he saw Justice standing there with the door in his pubescent hand. Justice tossed the door down before pulling the driver out of the car, while the engine continued to run.

"What the hell are you!" shouted the driver. "What kind of freak are you?"

"Like I said earlier," said the masked teen, "I'm Justice."

Justice punched the man in the face, completely knocking him out as a result.

Then came the police sirens, the cops showed up just after the hero did all their work for him. It was so comic book that Justice didn't know what to do with himself as he let the robber fall to the ground without his support. Justice didn't bother to help the bastard back up, instead he chose to leave him there as one of the police cars made its way towards him.

Justice threw up the peace sign at the cops before taking flight and getting the heck away from this crime scene, while another set of cars were going to the apartment.

But unknown to Justice, he was being watched by someone. The same someone who saw Justice make his debut last night had followed the teen again to this spot. The display of strength and skill was very unpolished in the books of the spectator. No doubt that this kid would need a lot of help if he was ever going to make it anywhere or even survive what storm was coming his way.

On top of a nearby roof stood a man dressed in Oriental robes. His face was hidden behind a plain, blue mask that was said to frighten wicked spirits. The dark-blue robes he wore were appeared to be those worn by a ninja. What he wore was tailored to fit his lean physique perfectly, while providing him plenty of flexibility to deliver his fearsome blows. And strapped to his each side of his hips were a pair of elegant sai.

This man continued to watch even as Justice was now gone from sight. A faint smile was growing underneath that mask as he started to make his own exit from the public eye. There was no doubt that things were about to get very serious since the Elder Ones had chosen a new Champion.

One could only hope that this one would be able to live up to the title.

* * *

><p>END!<p>

Sorry about Sam's awful costume, but the first one always has to suck. Don't worry, next chapter he'll get a serious upgrade. Also, we'll find out who this stranger watching Sam is. And things between Kurt and Dave reach the boiling point.

P.S. This is a Hevans/Kum fic. The Sam-Mika thing won't last too long just like the relationships on the show.


	5. Loss of Control

**Author's Note: **So I'm glad I got a lot more support for the story. Keep up with all the effort with your amazing reviews! So I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Read and review.**  
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**Loss of Control:**

(Sam)

It was fortunate for Sam that Saturday turned out to be a very beautiful day to go out to Central Park on a first date. Mika was a little surprised that Sam chose famous park of Manhattan to have their first date, but it also seemed very sweet. This was comforting for someone so young to know that he was being out and open with someone who was far more confident then he was.

They met at the park, both dressed very casually since it was a bit cool today with a light breeze kicking in. Sam kept things very simple with jeans and a long-sleeve underneath his sweater. As for Mika, he was a bit flashier in his skinny jeans, t-shirt, cardigan, and another jacket on top. The layers would keep his skinny body warm as he blindly followed Sam around for whatever it was that he had planned.

They walked down on the old, cobblestone path with Sam carrying a mysterious back on his back. Mika kept trying to get some answers out of the older teen, but Sam refused to open his mouth. He kept mum about everything as he looked around to the changing foliage as mid-October was beginning to rear its ugly head. Autumn was in full swing, which meant that winter wasn't too far behind.

"I love autumn," said Mika. "I like watching the leaves change color. There was a lot more leaves and trees back in England. Also, the people were a little more interesting."

Sam pretended to take offense to that last statement. He caught the cheeky look on the younger boy's face, which was oddly adorable to him. "Oh really?" said Sam. "I guess I'm uninteresting so I should just take this mini-picnic meal and share it with someone else. I'm pretty sure I could find someone who things I'm interesting enough to eat with."

Mika's eyes lit up as he heard what Sam had to say. He knew that Sam was being sarcastic about that last part, but it was the whole picnic thing that caught his attention. That was honestly the cutest thing he ever heard of. He never imagined that a boy would take him out on a picnic date, it was just one of those dreams he had that he never thought could ever come true.

And today it happened; he had Sam to thank for making a dream come true.

"You made us a picnic?" Mika asked, hiding a smile behind his sleeve.

Sam nodded his head as he shrugged one arm out of the backpack. He slid the rest of the bag off him before opening the zipper to reveal the few plastic containers he had inside. The delicious contents included some of Sam's special macaroni and cheese, which was the only thing he knew to make better than anyone else, including Stevie. He also had some pulled pork that his mom made the other day, which was totally delicious, and some freshly baked cornbread that he managed to take before Stevie got his hands on them.

Mika's heart was all aflutter as he examined each of the delicious looking food. He had never seen such an ordinary, but delicious looking meal in such a long time. His father was always forcing all this strange and extravagant meals down his throat that Mika just missed eating like a regular kid.

"This looks amazing!" Mika said with a bright smile on his face.

"It tastes better, I promise," Sam said. He led Mika to the Bethesda Fountain where they'd finally eat this late lunch. As the food was laid about, Sam pulled out a thermos of sweet tea with two, plastic cups. You couldn't call yourself a Tennessee Southern Boy if you didn't drink sweat tea.

The two began their mini-feast, which was filled with laughter and smiles.

Everything started simple at first with them talking about school. Mika was admitted due to his older sister (his only sister) having attended and graduated the year before moving to England. Apparently, Melinda Valentine had built herself up quite the reputation that Mika was automatically accepted because of this. Sam also learned that Mika was the youngest out of the five children, Melinda being the fourth child and only girl with five years on him. After that, there were the triplet Valentine boys that had a significant age difference with Mika of eleven years.

Sam nearly had his jaw fall to the floor once he heard that. He couldn't imagine what life would've been like had she had triplets or even twins. Who knew what kind of trouble would've been created if all three of the Evans' kids had been triplets. That would just have been a complete travesty involving a lot of messes and chaos. Sam was a decent kind, but Stevie and Stacy were hot messes. Things would have been a lot harder on their parents if that had happened.

Now, Sam told his basic story, even telling Mika about what happened to his father and sister.

"I'm so sorry," Mika said, holding onto his cup of sweet tea. "I lost my mom when I was seven in a car accident too." He backed his slipping bangs, briefly wishing he had used more hairspray. Then he looked over at Sam and felt stupid for himself for bringing this up. "I really don't get along with my dad or my brothers. I've always felt like a bother to them. Melinda always treated me right; she is so much like my mom was. But I have to thank most of my upbringing to nannies; they've dealt with me since dad's to busy with his company."

"Your dad owns a company?" said Sam. "Wow. What kind of business is he involved in?"

"Weapons development," said Mika. "He does a lot of work with different military groups. He mostly works with the United States and different European nations. The whole reason we were in England was because he was working with the British Navy to develop some new weapons. Right now, he's doing something over in China, working on some project or another. He really wants to work with the Anderson's Scientific Corporation. He believes that with their scientific knowledge and his military expertise then they'd have the power to change the world."

Sam nodded his head, well aware of the influence of the Anderson family had. They were a major research and development company that pioneered many news vaccinations and clinical drugs. "That will never happen though," Sam said, wiping his hands. The cornbread was delicious, but it was a bit of a mess. "The Andersons have far too many morals. Mr. Anderson wouldn't go into weapons and neither will Blaine."

"Blaine?"

"The heir to Anderson Corp and my best friend," Sam said, proudly. "Blaine is like my gay mentor. He's the Obi-Kwan to my Luke Skywalker."

Mika couldn't help but to laugh as Sam's nerd flag started to fly. Sam almost worried about this being a deal breaker until Mika actually quoted a line from Star Wars.

Yup, Sam really did like this boy; he liked him a whole lot.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

There was so much junk inside the house that Kurt felt like he was about to suffocate at any moment. His obsessively, neat persona was going wild as he tried to find some semblance of reclaiming order inside his own home. It wasn't about to happen anytime soon though with all the mayhem going on in their lives these last few days.

Between Sectionals that started next weekend, Carol and Finn completely moving in, and the wedding that was right after Sectionals, things were just a flat out mess. Kurt felt like pulling out his hair at this point as he stared at box after box.

Carol's storage unit decided to raise the rates on them, which provoked this sudden flood of junk. Okay, not all of it was junk. Some of it was actually workable with the décor that Kurt already had set up inside the house. He had already taken liberty to go through some of those boxes and pick out what was worth salvaging. The rest had pretty much been decided was going to be sold off in a garage sale that they would hold tomorrow.

Sunday would be a very long day, but at least it would be very productive for this soon to be family.

Next Saturday, after Sectionals, Kurt would legally have a step-mother and a step-brother. It was so weird since it had been just him and his dad for so long that he couldn't really believe that this was really going to happen. For one side of Kurt, this meant that there was no chance of his mother ever coming back. Not that Kurt actually expected her to walk in through the front door, smelling like daises and sunshine. But you can't blame a boy for missing his mother.

Kurt was at least happy that he didn't have to share the basement with Finn. His dad had renovated his den into a bedroom for Finn with all his private belongings now in the guest bedroom. Their former guest bedroom was the new den that his father seemed to enjoy and used to get away from the havocs of the shop. Kurt felt the same way about his palace of a bedroom that he went away to escape his life.

Speaking of life, a flinch hit him hard when there was a knock at the front door. Kurt briefly turned back as he remembered that nobody else was home. The knocking only got louder so Kurt had no choice but to navigate pass the sea of boxers and clutter, some of it was partly his blame. Mostly all the wedding books and wedding-related goodies could be blamed on Kurt since he was working as their wedding planner.

When Kurt finally reached the door, he wasn't surprised to see that it was Dave. There was no hesitation at all from Kurt as he stepped back to give Dave enough space to enter.

Dave seemed to be in a good mood today as he leaned in to kiss Kurt on the cheek. Holding back a peaceful sigh, Kurt smiled at Dave as he took the larger boy's hand and led him towards his bedroom. They were both pretty quite as they descended down the dark basement with only their footsteps making much noise.

Kurt locked the door behind him before joining Dave on the queen-sized mattress. The neutral, painted walls and soft covers allowed Kurt to relax a little even with Dave's possible bi-polar mood present. He briefly looked around the rest of his room where he saw his diva wall, the TV and his DVD collection, and a couple of scattered floor chairs. He felt like a prince in his room as the red drapes that hung all over the place gave the room a royal-like feel to it.

"I love you," Dave whispered as he grabbed onto Kurt. He pulled the fair-skinned boy against his chest with both arms wrapped around his waist. His ungodly amount of body heat began to hit Kurt hard, which was fine since it was a little chilly inside the house.

There was no hesitation in Kurt's voice as he repeated what Dave said to him. He kept strong, he kept his emotions in check, and most importantly he kept his heart guarded. Now, whenever Kurt said "I love you", he never meant those words like he did before. They were always dry and bitter whenever they escaped his mouth. Dave was oblivious as ever to this change and so was everyone else who'd only look on the surface of the relationship that they had.

Kurt almost wished that he took the advice to stay away from Dave since the beginning. It would've saved him so much trouble. This point would've never been reached. But he was a fool; he was a fool that was in love with the worst guy imaginable. Now, Kurt had to deal with the consequences of allowing those emotions get the best of him.

Slowly, Dave peeled off Kurt's clothes, waiting for the smaller boy's consent. This courtesy was uncommon in the past month so Kurt knew he was in for a more painless experience. As he began to lose his clothing, Kurt felt dirty and worthless for allowing this to happen to him. Even now as Dave had him naked and powerless, Kurt stupidly felt a small part of his heart yearning for David.

He missed the rough hands against his porcelain flesh, the chapped lips sucking his neck, and even the painful, initial penetration followed by David's hushed apologies.

If he was lucky, then today Kurt might hear some kind of apology. All the rest were just shadows, hallowed shells of what used to make Kurt's toes curl.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

Justice had been working a lot lately, considering all the crime that infected New York City. He'd easily save about half a dozen in a single night and help lock over a dozen criminals up. He constantly saw news reports flowing in about Justice's latest triumph over crime and the police being completely baffled by who he was. The entire city was buzzing as they tried to figure out just who was Justice and what his objectives were.

For Justice, he just did what came naturally to him.

He ran over the rooftops in Staten Island to find his innocent before those thugs. He had a vision of a teen about to be in grave danger from some kids from his own school. There was no way that those brats would get away with the murder that they could potentially commit. Lucky for them, he was considering just using scare tactics to get them to act straight.

A muffled scream managed to hit Justice as he crossed the park. He leaped from the building he was on top of to the basketball courts in the park. The minute that his feet landed on the ground, it created a noise loud enough to catch the attention of the four boys around his age that were ganging up on a single kid.

"You might want to be a little gentler with him," said Justice. "This kid just may end up being your boss in the future."

"Fuck you, fag!" shouted one of the boys. "Let's teach this freak a lesson."

His mindless friends and him abandoned the beaten boy on the ground to gang up on Justice. The young hero realized that they had chosen poorly and he had no other choice but to teach them a lesson that they'd never forget. Oh well, some people were just so stubborn that they had to learn things the hard way.

One of the boys tried to punch Justice, but that quickly proved to be a fail. Justice knocked the kid in the mouth, which sent him down to the ground. The next boy that came after him was obvious ringleader of these idiots. Justice knew that he needed to really be taught something in order to get the others to straighten their act.

Justice elbowed the boy in the stomach, nearly causing the boy to vomit out his dinner. He then grabbed the youth by his neck and held him up into the air with the other two staring up in terror. "Listen to me and listen carefully," growled Justice. "If any of you ever think about ganging up on another kid for any reason at all, you better know that I will know what you did and I will comeback. Don't make me come back to this island and find you four out here, got it?"

"Yes, Mr. Justice," said the uninjured two.

Justice dropped their ringleader to the ground with the other injured boy getting help from the other two. "Good," said the hero. "Now, get the fuck out of here!" His voice was loud and clear, very demanding that it in fact terrified the boys. They all got together and took off running as fast their legs could take them.

Justice went over to the other boy who had been beaten up by those hooligans. He dropped down to his knee where he closely saw a torn X-Men comic book with a pair of broken glasses next to it. The young man helped up the younger boy to see that he looked about Stevie's age, which really made him want to go after those kids again.

"Are you alright?" asked Justice.

The boy brushed the blood from his cheek and nodded his head. He looked down at his glasses that he had no hope of being mended. As for his comic, well, he'd just have to buy a new one. "I guess I'm fine," the boy said, sadly. He looked over at Justice with a soft gasp escaping his lips. "You're…you're that Justice guy. You're on the news like every day."

"That would be me," Justice said, helping the kid up. A smile graced the young hero's face as he saw the look of adoration on the boy's face. It was times like these that he felt good about what he does as his after-school activity. "Let me give you a ride home. I'll make sure that no other bully tries to jump you today."

"How will you give me a ride?" the boy asked, retrieving his broken items.

Instead of just answering the question, Justice just grabbed the boy and took off flying. Justice took the boy back home where he safely went inside to explain to his parents what happened. The hero briefly saw the kid's dad stick his head out before he took off back to Brooklyn.

He flew to his hideaway spot to retrieve his normal, everyday clothes. He quickly changed just in time to hear his cell phone going off in the pocket.

Sam gulped when he saw it was from his uncle and that it was pass midnight. He needed to quickly cart his ass home before his mother went on the warpath hunting him down and his uncle sent out the dogs. "Yes uncle?" said Sam. "I'm already on my way home."

"Where are you?" Uncle Sam said with his scary, cop voice. "You said you were going over to Blaine's house hours ago, but Blaine just called an hour ago to ask if you wanted to spend the night. Where the hell are you, Samuel Evans?"

And there went his alibi. Sam was pissed only at himself as he tried to explain his way out of this one. The best chance he had was to lie like a dog and say he had snuck off to go see a concert. It had happened once when he was fourteen, his uncle and mom would buy that.

Still though, Sam really needed some help because situations like this one would come back up again. Even though his uncle bought this excuse, it wouldn't always be this easy in the future. He needed to get somebody on his side who could cover for him.

The question was who could cover for a young superhero?

* * *

><p>Knowing that only one person would be able to help with his dilemma, Sam packed his back and headed off to Manhattan Island. He got on the subway until he reached the Upper East Side to where one Blaine Anderson lived. It only made sense to turn to Blaine during this time of epic, superhero need. Blaine was the only person that could help save Sam's ass from the dreaded forces known better as mom and Uncle Sam.<p>

So Sam made it to the "old money" end of town until he reached the building that Blaine lived at. The massive tower was owned by the Anderson family with several businesses operating inside of it. The top floor was a massive penthouse that had every modern convenience imaginable, which is where the Anderson family resided in. It was what Blaine loved to call the Mouth to Hell due to his parents' suction of anything remotely creative, but he kept between him and Sam.

The doorman recognized the blond headed boy so he let him pass without any questions. Sam went over to the elevator and ascended up to the highest floor, which took about five minutes to reach floor number twenty-five. When the elevator opened up, Sam wasn't surprised to see one of the Andersons' personal bodyguards present.

"Evans," growled, a bulky black man.

"Porter," Sam said with a smile. He held up a bag, which contained a delicious treat that the bodyguard could never get enough of. Sam handed over the bag of donuts that were from Porter's favorite bakery over in Brooklyn.

"Good boy, you've learned well," Porter said, taking the bag.

Sam could only roll his eyes as he walked past the bodyguard to reach the actual inside of the penthouse. From the massive windows, Sam had a sweet view of Manhattan. This was like one of the great perks of having a best friend who was rich, you got to enjoy his parents' money with him.

Blaine strolled on in and was still dressed up in his Dalton uniform. The rich boy had only gotten in a few minutes ago so he didn't exactly feel motivated enough to get naked just yet. He'd wait to do that until his parents got home then he could fear them out by his presentation.

"My, my Samuel, what do I owe this honor?" asked Blaine. "You normally don't come visit me unless I get down on my hands and knees."

Sam fought the urge to smile as he approached his best friend. He kept hanging onto his backpack, not quite ready to come out the superhero closet just yet. He knew he had to brace Blaine for this one since it wouldn't be easy to take in at once.

"Well, you remember what happened last night, right?" said Sam. "I kind of need a major favor."

"Ah, you're actually going to fill me in on the loop," Blaine said. He fell on one of the majorly expensive couches that his parents purchased. He rubbed his soaked feet on the cushions to rub the foot stink on them before striking a pose. "What's going on then, Sammy? You need me to cover for you so you can sneak off with this Mika boy of yours? Planning on ravishing on Broadway? And what's with the backpack? You've been out of school for like two hours now."

There were times that Sam forgot that Blaine had a bit of a wild side to him. Normally, Blaine always stayed prim and proper like he was raised, but that guard always went crashing down whenever he was around Sam. The real Blaine Anderson showed up when he was with Sam that or he had one too many drinks floating around in his system. Usually, alcohol was the key ingredient.

Sam dropped onto one of the sofas with his backpack falling to his feet. He gulped as he decided that it was time to do the deed. He needed the help and Blaine was the only one who could create a proper cover for him.

"Blaine…I do need you to cover for me, but it's not what you think," Sam said. "Have you watched the news lately? Have you heard about this Justice guy?"

"Yeah," Blaine said, slowly. "Why? You planning on trying to take pictures of him to make a fortune? Or are you going to go stalk the guy? Either way, Sam I think that's a very bad idea. Who knows what kind of psycho that this Justice guy really is."

"He's not psycho, Blaine," said Sam. "I know that for a fact because I am Justice."

"You never really know anyone, Sam," said Blaine. "People can…wait!" The young preppy had to pause for a moment as he re-winded what he just heard. He blinked as he looked at Sam very carefully, trying to figure out what Sam just said. "Did you…did you just say that you are Justice? Samuel Evans, you expect me to believe that you're a superhero?"

Sam nodded his head before throwing his backpack over to Blaine. It was an easy catch so Blaine proceeded to open the bag to find the Justice costume as descried inside. This made Blaine chuckle as he realized just how far Sam's obsession was as he claimed this to be fan made so a total fake.

Next thing Blaine knew, the bag and the clothes weren't in his hand. Blaine also had to deal with the fact that Sam was no longer sitting on the sofa. Sam was now standing beside Blaine, holding the backpack and the clothes in his hands. This was all that needed to be done to make Blaine completely lose it.

"Fuck me right now, Samuel Evans," whispered Blaine. His mind was completely blown at this point as he practically drooled at Sam. This was just like one of those things that left Blaine completely without a single, formed thought and no control over what word vomit would come out. "My best friend's a superhero…my hot best friend is a superhero. Wow, I think I had a dream like this before, except it wasn't you but it was Christian Bale dressed up as Batman and I was Robin."

"You already told me about that fantasy," Sam said, shaking the image out of his mind. "Get serious though, Blaine, I really need your help. I need you to cover for me whenever I go out on patrol."

Blaine started to chuckle at that last part. Sam shot a dirty look at his best friend, which seemed to help calm Blaine down a bit. "I'm sorry, Sam," Blaine said, letting out deep breaths. "This is just so new to me. It's not every day that your friend tells you that they're a superhero. And, wait another minute." Blaine took the bag and got the rest of his costume out of there. He stared at the fashion nightmare for a moment before gagging as he threw it all to the ground. "Just no, Sam. You cannot go out in public any longer dressed up that ridiculously. You look more like a hoodlum than a superhero."

"Forgive me for being poor," Sam whispered. "Now, will you help cover for me or not?"

Blaine nodded his head before stomping on the hideous outfit. Sam tried to retrieve his dirtied up clothes, but Blaine kept him back as he took the blond to his room. "I will do more than cover for you, Samuel," he said, smiling. "I am going to get you a totally fabulous costume. You'll look better than any of the superheroes from the comics. You'll be drop, dead sexy in the outfit that I'll get you! Wonder Woman will be jealous of you."

"Oh Lord, you're going to put me in buttless chaps, aren't you?" asked Sam.

"No," Blaine said, calmly, "at least I'm not going to now."

Sam was couldn't believe the type of mess he had gotten himself into now that Blaine was in on his secret. Maybe it would've been better if he just went to Stevie instead. Well, except if he went to his brother than he'd stand no chance of getting a better costume.

Even though it was his first, Sam had to admit that he hated what he wore. He felt more like a bad guy than a good guy so it was good to have Blaine on the bandwagon.

Now, he just needed to make sure that Blaine was kept under check.

* * *

><p>One of the plentiful private schools in Manhattan served as the host for this year's Show Choir Sectionals. Academy of the City were locked in on the Saturday competition and if they made it then they would be going onto Regionals to where the big kids played. Everyone in glee club were pretty confident that they would make it to Regionals since they had accomplished that much the last four years. It was only last year that they made it to Nationals were they came back in twelfth place.<p>

Sam felt a little nervous as he stood with the other guys amongst the five other show choir clubs present. It just dawned on him that they were actually competing on their musical talent, something that hadn't exactly hit him before. Now, he was about ready to pee himself as he joined the other members of New Directions for their big pow-wow.

"Alright, we can do this, guys," Finn said, encouragingly. "We know our 80's music, these other teams won't stand a chance against us."

"Man-boobs is right," said Santana. "All we do is sing 80's music most of the time."

"You know, I really hate it when you call me that," said Finn.

Santana was about to come up with another one of her comebacks when Mercedes pulled her back before she did. It snuffed out any potential fire before it had a chance to roar out of control. Apparently, the New Directions were notorious for nearly splitting up during a Sectional performance.

With things calmer now, everyone began to split up as they waited to get the green-light to go. They were the third act and since the show was barely beginning there was a long time left before they got on stage.

Sam let out a deep sigh as he mentally went over the song he had to sing in his head. It was only his first year in glee and he had snagged himself a solo. He was supposed to sing with Kurt, but since the young diva was too busy planning a wedding, the duet became a solo. And the rest of the club had to sing their big finale.

And speak of a wedding, Sam almost forgot that he had to go to Kurt's dad's wedding. He had gotten the invitation long before their fallout so he was completely obligated to attend. He already had an outfit to wear so there was no getting out of it. Sam knew he'd survive the night with his family, but he wasn't sure how he could handle all the awkwardness between him and Kurt.

For now, Sam didn't have to worry about that as he got a text message. He looked at the screen to see that it was Blaine and that he had his new costume. Sam quickly hid his phone back into the pocket before telling Mike that he was taking off to the restroom. The Asian teen would cover for him in event that Rachel decided to go one of her psycho trips.

The minute that Sam got outside the waiting room, he was practically ambushed by Blaine. The older teen carried a backpack on his shoulders and was dressed surprisingly casual for a change. Still, there was no denying that Blaine looked like he belonged on "Gossip Girl" starring opposite to Chase Crawford.

Blaine held up two fingers to his lips to single his friend to be quite before dragging him off to the men's restroom. It was one of those smaller ones that could only be occupied by one person at a time so there was plenty of privacy for them.

"You're going to love me for this," Blaine said, while unzipping the bag. "I got them all from top designers who owed me a couple of favors for modeling their outfits. Anyways, it's all virtually indestructible and should be comfortable to move around in. I only recommend that you avoid anything flammable because I don't know how it'll withstand heat."

Sam couldn't say a single world as Blaine began to pull the outfit out piece by piece. He was simply awe struck by what he saw with his own two eyes.

The outfit came in four pieces, which all looked truly super. The boots were combat style, but also looked comfortable enough for Sam to run around in. They weren't too bulky so that meant he'd be able to do some of his more impressive tricks. Next, were the leather pants that Sam somehow knew they were coming. At least there were back pockets so he didn't have to worry about his ass hanging out, plus the pants came with a cool, studded belt. Blaine also took out a tight, spandex type shirt that would fit Sam's chest tightly. This was mostly so that Sam had something cool to wear underneath the best part of the outfit.

A leather jacket was the Mona Lisa to Sam's eyes. It was styled rather simply, but it just had such a cool, retro look to it that it made Sam's mouth water. Plus, sewn onto the back were a pair of red, angel wings that gave the jacket more personality. Also, a hood was attached that would cover the majority of Sam's head to keep his identity better protected.

"I also got you these to help keep your pretty eyes a secret." Blaine took out a pair of silver-framed sunglasses that had incredibly dark lenses. The ends of the sunglasses had a tight strap that connected it together to keep it securely placed on the head. "No way that these suckers will come off unless someone yanks at them."

Sam was practically speechless as he held onto every piece of clothing at once. He felt like a true superhero with these clothes in his hands. He also felt so much happiness swelling up in his chest as he looked at his best friend with tears wanting to come out.

"Blaine, you are amazing," Sam said, smiling.

The older teen just shrugged his shoulders before winking at Sam. "Tell me something I don't know," laughed Blaine. He took the clothes back and took his time in returning them to the bag. "Alright, you should get going back. You have Sectionals to win so that I can kick your ass at Regionals."

Sam didn't take off right away though. He hugged Blaine the moment that he was done packing up. The older teen couldn't help but to chuckle as he returned the hug to the blond headed boy. Once that bromance moment was done with, Blaine pushed Sam out the door so that he could get back to the competition.

About an hour passed before the moment came that the New Directions stepped onto the stage. Sam was first off to bat and made it to the center of the stage where he began to sing the first half of "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" by Poison.

"We both lie silently still in the dead of the night. Although we both lie close together, we feel miles apart inside."

"Was it something I said or something I did. Did my words not come out right. Though I tried not to hurt you, though I tried. But I guess that's why they say."

"Every rose has its thorn. Just like every night has its dawn. Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song. Every rose has its thorn."

"Yeah it does."

"I listen to our favorite song playing on the radio. Hear the DJ say loves a game of easy come and easy go. But I wonder does he know has he ever felt like this. And I know that you'd be here right now if I could have let you know somehow, I guess."

"Every rose has its thorn. Just like every night has its dawn. Just like every cowboy sings his sad, sad song. Every rose has its thorn."

His voice was strong so it carried well throughout the auditorium, causing the audience to cheer for him.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

After Sam's heartfelt performance, the remainder of the club came in to see the Run DMC cover of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way". That turned out to be a major hit with the audience and even the judges couldn't help but to be impressed by New Directions. There was no denying that they were the best out of all the other show choir clubs that had performed that day. So it became set in stone that they won Sectionals, which couldn't have come at a better time.

But there was something far more important than Sectionals to worry about. Kurt and Finn hurried back home so that they could get ready for their parents' wedding. The soon to be step-brothers took off as fast as they could to the church once they were all dressed up and clean. The remainder of the gleeks, except Quinn and Sam, would show up after the ceremony to the reception.

Kurt and Finn arrived to the local Protestant Church that Carole had been taking Finn to for the last couple of years. As uncomfortable as Kurt was with the whole religion thing at least the preacher of this church wasn't as intolerant as other religious leaders. In fact, he was actually accepting of homosexuality and preached to be accepting to his congregation as well.

Anyways, Burt and Carole were married in a simple ceremony with their sons and all their family and friends present. The moment that they sealed their union with a kiss, applause flooded the church. Finn was grinning happily for his mother who had finally moved on from the loss of his heroic father that passed away during Desert Storm. As for Kurt, he was a ball of tears as he felt so happy for his dad.

It was amazing and there was nothing at all that could ruin this buzz of happiness.

The celebration made its way over to the dancehall that they were holding the reception in that night. The funds that were raked in by a mechanic and a nurse provided a decent enough reception for their guests to celebrate their happy day in. Not to mention, they saved a bundle by getting Kurt to plan everything for them, which helped to promote a career move that Kurt honestly took the time to think about.

With any luck, he'd someday get to plan his own wedding, which was possible now since gay marriage was legal in the state. Now, Kurt just needed to find a good guy that wanted to marry him and have a million babies.

So as Kurt was relieved of his managerial duties by his dad and step-mother, he was allowed to enjoy the bounty of his labor. He got to see the reception as just a guest, while people began to flock to the dance floor where the DJ played some cheesy song. It was so old school that it was actually cool and everyone there pretty much knew all of the words to it. Kurt couldn't help but to laugh before Mercedes and Rachel dragged him off against his will.

Most of the night became a blur to him as he danced with his friends from school. He also briefly danced with his father and step-mother. He even managed to snag Finn into doing a couple of steps with him, but made sure he kept his distance from the clumsier teen. Kurt had tried and didn't exactly succeed in teaching Finn to dance properly so he wasn't about to risk the safety of his feet.

Then the music began to slow down and most of the people cleared the space to make room for couples.

It was this point that Kurt felt his heart sink a little bit. Since Dave wasn't here that meant Kurt had nobody to slow dance with. Plus, Dave didn't dance so it wouldn't have mattered even if he was at the reception. That was just one of the sadder terms that Kurt had come to accept in his current position.

The boy felt utterly foolish as he decided to sit the rest of this out. He returned to the table that he had sat at with his new family, all alone. Why he just didn't go over to the table of his friends was simply beyond him at the moment. He was just a bit upset with how things in his own personal life had turned out.

Lucky for him that there was someone out there that still cared enough about him to try and remedy that.

"May I have this dance?" Kurt was out of breath as he looked up to see Sam standing over him. The southern boy looked like the perfect gentleman in his shirt and tie. His mess of a hair was even combed neatly to the side, showing off more of that handsome, maturing face of his. He was leaned over a bit with his right hand extended and waited to be taken.

Kurt knew it was stupid to waste his time looking at Sam in that light. Although, he couldn't turn down the chance to briefly know a moment of happiness with a true friend. "I'd really like that," he whispered, taking Sam's hand. Sam helped to pull him up from the seat before they began to make their way to the dance floor.

In an impressive turn of events, Kurt was amazed by just how well of a dancer Sam was. Sure, he knew that the younger but taller boy had rhythm in him, yet he never thought to test his slow dancing ability. Even though it was the easiest dance out there, it was remarkable to think about how many guys were out there that couldn't even handle that.

Kurt held bag his urges to smile and even to cry as he danced with Sam's arms around him. This bliss that Kurt felt at the moment was just incomprehensible. For now, Kurt felt like a princess who finally got to find her prince. In this case, it was a prince who found his prince.

He ignored everything and everyone else. He just succumbed to the movement of his body against Sam. It was all just so perfect and unreal that he wished that this moment could never end. They would just go on dancing like this forever. There would never be an end to this day, it would just keep playing on repeat.

Kurt never wanted to lose this feeling, but it was already gone when he opened his eyes.

Sam still continued to hang onto them as the music continued to play. The sweet boy felt almost as lost in an ocean of emotion, only he was far more stable. Sam had a sense of honor and decency that he had to uphold. He was in a relationship with Mika so nothing could happen between him and Kurt. Plus, Kurt was involved with Dave so that needed to be respected. Even though, Sam was completely unaware of what was happening between the two behind closed doors.

But it was nice to feel how things could be like if they had the chance. Sam could say that he at least got to dance with the boy that had held onto his heart for so long. In a way, this was Sam's way of letting go those feelings that he had for Kurt. He wouldn't stand in the way an longer in any shape or form that would lead to pulling Kurt away from someone he loved.

Again, Sam was completely unaware to what things were really like between Kurt and Dave.

They both understood that it was never meant to be between them. They had both come to accept this fact, but they wanted to enjoy the rest of what this dance had to offer them. It was a brief glance at what could've been. They memorized the feel of their bodies moving against each other, the smell of the other's cologne, and even the way that the strobe lights reflected against their eyes.

But as always, the song had to come to an end. When the music picked up into something with more rhythm, the friends parted ways now that they had some semblance of closure. Sam was hoping that this would at last allow them to return to how they used to be. As for Kurt, he wasn't so certain just where things could go now and if they ever had the chance at getting better for them.

It was these uncertainties that led to Kurt pulling away from Sam. The older boy masked the pain by a smile as he looked up into Sam's green eyes. "Thank you, Sam," Kurt said, softly. Suddenly, Kurt felt Hell upon him as he briefly looked away. It was then that he noticed Dave standing at the doorway with his blood boiling up to his eyes. Now, it was time to battle a demon so that he may find some peace. "Thank you for being such a good friend."

And that was how Kurt said goodbye to his oldest and dearest friend.

The minute that Kurt was away from him, Sam felt that something was wrong. He turned back where he caught sight of Kurt getting dragged away by Dave, which sent a psychic spark to his brain. Sam's normal vision was blinded as horrifying images began to play in his brain. The sight was enough to make him vomit as his fists clenched together and the vision came to an end.

If Dave thought his blood was boiling by seeing Kurt dancing with Sam that was nothing compared to what Sam felt. Everything he saw involved what that monster did to Kurt, which all resulted into what would happen to Kurt if Sam was even a second too late.

Tonight was the night that Kurt Hummel was going to be murdered by his boyfriend.

* * *

><p>"Dave, this isn't funny."<p>

"Shut the fuck up, bitch!"

Kurt flinched as he listened to Dave's voice boom inside of the car. Tears were swelling up at this point as he sat in the backseat of the car with his hands tied up by one of Dave's shirts.

He was well aware that he was doomed the minute that Dave had shown up at the reception. Even though he said he wasn't going to show, Kurt felt that Dave would show up just to find him guilty of something. It was just how Dave was now since all trace of sanity seemed to leave that head of his.

It came almost at the blink of the eye. One minute, Kurt was at the reception of his parents and he was dancing with Sam. Now, he was tied up in the backseat of the car that was parked at the salty water below the Brooklyn Bridge. The thought that first came to Kurt's mind was that Dave was going to push the car into the water with him locked inside of it. Drowning was one of Kurt's biggest fears and Dave was well aware of that.

Where a normal person would've begged for mercy, Kurt found himself unable to do a thing. It wasn't so much that fear had gotten the better of him, but he had just given up. The urge to live that spark to survive was gone from his body now. All that was left behind was a shell of the boy that used to be so full of happiness and life.

At least Kurt could say he died with one last hurrah.

Bound in the backseat, nothing stopped Dave from climbing back there. There was no sense in Kurt trying to find him once the boy caught sight of the knife in hand. It looked like Dave had something else in mind. Just drowning him wouldn't be enough to satisfy the insane urge that had consumed him.

"I loved you so much, Kurt," Dave said, crying now. "I love you so much, but you keep on choosing him over me! I would've given you the world. What could the country bumpkin offer you? Nothing! He can't even make your toes curl like I could!"

That last shred of sanity that belonged to David Karofsky was long gone now. All the scar-filled insanity had come up to the surface as Dave tried to justify his actions by blaming Kurt. As far as Dave was concern, it was Kurt who pushed him to do all the things he had done and was going to do. Dave loved him and this was how he was going to show Kurt just how much he loved him. A slow death was the only way that Kurt could see that.

So Dave held Kurt down as he used the knife to cut open the shirt. Where it would've been easier just to unbutton the shirt, Dave just decided that it needed to be sliced apart. He further tore away at Kurt by stripping him of the jacket and the pants, while his arms were still bound.

Kurt just laid there and took what was being offered. His eyes were devoid of all life at this point as he was stripped until he was almost naked. All that Kurt had left on him was just a torn open shirt that gave him the look of a helpless victim that this predatorily side to Dave seemed to relish in.

The sharp end of the knife hovered across Kurt's chest with Dave moving it dangerously closer to the thin layer of flesh. Kurt watched as Dave looked as if he would slice at an artery, which would make him bleed to death. But that moment didn't come as Dave brought the knife to his own hand to make a small cut. He then grabbed Kurt's hand to cut it as well until they both had blood on the surface. He pressed their hands together with their blood mingling together, which concerned Kurt as to what was going on.

"Even when you're gone at least a part of you will always be with me," Dave said, softly. He broke the grip then pressed his full weight on top of Kurt's virtually naked body. There was a grin on his face that would make even the Devil nervous.

That knife was coming back up, which made Kurt want it to just be over with already as he focused his sight on the ceiling of the car. If he died tonight, at least he could say that he got to have that dance with Sam. That will be a sweet memory for him as he crossed the Fields of Elysion to finally be reunited with his dearly, departed mother. He didn't worry about his father since he had Carole and Finn now.

As he was about to stare Death in the face, Kurt knew no fear. He simply closed his eyes and waited for his life to come to a close. "Goodbye, Sam," he said, softly. His voice was so hushed that not even Dave could hear him.

But what they both heard was the sound of metal being torn apart with cold air touching Kurt's feet. The next thing he knew, Dave's entire weight was off of him and a loud yelled filled the air. Kurt opened his eyes to see the knife lying on his chest as well as the back door no longer existing since it was no longer attached to the car.

From where, Kurt started to crawl out of the car to see that Dave was on the ground with a man with red angel wings on the back of his jacket beating the hell out of him.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

There was no time to waste.

As corny as that line was, Sam felt that it really applied to what was about to happen. He made some excuse to his family before taking off to the house to retrieve the upgraded costume that Blaine had gotten him. Sam hadn't intended to test it so soon, but it would be needed so that he could save Kurt from Dave.

If there was anyone that ever needed to die it was Dave Karofsky. Sam's blood was stilling boiling over as he rushed to get the costume on so that he could assume being Justice. And Justice would be served tonight. Sam was more than willing to swear to the Almighty that Dave will face justice and retribution for all the pain that he put Kurt through.

So help Dave if even one hair was out of place when Sam showed up. There would be not a power on earth that could save Dave from what Sam wanted to do to him.

Justice stormed out of the house without anyone even realizing that he was inside or that someone had left. He was like a jet as he flew across the town with his new wardrobe entering its maiden voyage. He would see just how helpful these stylish clothes would be when he painted them red from Dave's bloody.

There would be so much blood, Justice thought. His eyes were so blinded by it that his own humanity seemed to vanish. The moment that he made it to Brooklyn Bridge at night, Justice was completely gone and had become a vengeful creature.

Dave's car was parked and it was rocking a little with two heads clearly seen from the back windshield. Justice stormed the car where he grabbed the backdoor to rip it clear off the hinges. The metal door was thrown to the ground with Justice grabbing onto the back of Dave's letterman to drag him out of there. He completely ignored the almost cationic Kurt as his prime focus laid solely on Dave.

The football player was thrown to the ground with all the roughness that Justice could muster up in him. Dave pulled his head up from the ground to throw curses at his attacker when he got a clear sight of Justice. The hero was dressed in almost skin-tight leather that hugged virtually every part of his muscular physique. Every inch of his body looked like a deadly weapon that was what partly lead to Dave pissing himself.

"Pathetic piece of shit!" growled Justice. "Does it make you feel like a man hurting an innocent boy? You don't deserve him. You are nothing but a coward!"

Justice jumped on top of Dave, pushing the youth flat onto his back. The next thing Dave knew was that his face was burning in pain. Justice's fist had knocked his head to the side with part of his jaw being broken in the process. Justice wasn't satisfied with one punch though, he had to throw a few more in their for good measure.

Then, Justice pulled Dave up from the ground where he threw him on the hood of the car. He punched the miserable bastard in the chest before kicking him in the knee, breaking that in a clean swoop. When Dave howled in agony, Justice felt a little more sedated, but that pain wasn't good enough for him. No, Dave really had to suffer for what he had done to Kurt all this time.

So to finish this asshole, Justice went over to the broken door to smash the life out of Dave with. He had picked the door up when he finally got a look at Kurt who sat at the edge with his legs crossed and the knife in his hands. There were dried tears that stained his face and a little bit of blood was running down his hand as he shivered from the cold.

Kurt looked like such a miserable creature that it truly served to infuriate Justice and feel righteous for going to end Dave's life. Justice would've done it too had there been not an act of divine intervention, or least a plain intervention.

As Justice was going to take that step closer to Dave, a sharp weapon flew across the wind until it nearly struck his hand. The weapon pierced the steel door, which led to Justice dropping it simply out of shock. When the door landed on the ground, Justice could see the elegant, curved hilted blade that had almost got him. Thinking twice, Justice realized that it was a sai, but he was uncertain of just where that sai came from.

"You should really think twice about what you're going to do, Justice. If you kill him than you are no better than the criminals that you fight. Leave this boy be, allow the authorities handle him so that you may focus on your assignment."

"I have to punish him," Justice growled. He looked around, trying to find the voice that had spoken to him. He was uncertain if it was real or just his own mind playing tricks on him, but either way he just had to know. "I can't let him get away with this! Dave would've killed Kurt if I didn't stop him. He must be punished."

As for Kurt, he only felt completely lost as he curled up into a half-naked ball. The cold was really starting to eat away at him as he remained virtually blind to what was happening. His own brain had locked himself away from truly understanding what was going on here.

Justice took that step closer towards Dave when another sai stopped him. This time, the owner of the weapon was present and had suddenly appeared just as Justice would've completely lost it.

It was obvious that this was a man, but his age and appearance was kept secret by what he wore with the only exception being his eyes. He dressed in blue, ninja robes that did serve to exemplify his leaner physique. Justice would've tried to get away from him, but the newcomer revealed that his retrieved his other sai and held it towards Justice's neck.

"Control yourself, Champion," said the mysterious man. "You have a larger purpose than killing someone as insignificant as this boy. Allow the mortals to punish him."

Justice was about to budge, but simply looking into the brown eyes of this man was enough to sooth him. The hero dropped all his anger and rage for Dave as he became overcome with his own sorrow for nearly losing all sense of self-control.

The man returned his sai to the sheath that housed them. He went over to Dave who laid broken on the hood of his car before waving a hand over him. Dave suddenly went completely limp with his eyes closed as his body slowly began to heal itself.

He then led Justice to the backseat where Kurt was hanging out the edge of. He took the pants that the boy had lost during the initial scuffle with Dave. He was silent as he helped the boy dress before assisting him out of the car as well.

They were all quite as this man seemed to work his magic. He passed Kurt off to Justice before going over to retrieve Dave. Kurt was becoming a little more aware of everything, while Justice was still trying to figure out who this stranger was. Whoever he was, Justice felt like that he held some of the answers to the questions he had building up inside of him.

So blindly, Justice carried Kurt to where the man was carrying Dave off to. As strange as it was to see these two carrying the boys in the arms, nobody seemed to bother them. That was until they arrived to the Brooklyn Police Station. The moment they showed up, a surge of cops started to swarm them, but the man stopped them all in their tracks. He simply tossed Dave at their feet, while Justice had Kurt sit down on a nearby bench.

Something would've happened had the newcomer not grabbed onto Justice, dragging him far away from the cops in the blink of the eyes.

The next thing Justice knew was that he was standing on the rooftop of a distant building. He could barely recognize his surrounding, but knew that he was still in Brooklyn. They were far away from the police station now. Justice still felt his blood pumping as he thought about how pitiful Kurt looked in the backseat in such a disheveled state, while his visions were on repeat of what Dave had and would've done to Kurt.

"He is safe now," said the stranger. "You saved his life and now justice shall be served. But I'm afraid that you still have a long way to go before you can truly earn the name Justice."

"And who are you?" Justice asked. "You seem to know a lot of things."

"I am educated that is why," said the stranger. "I know what is going on and I know who you are, why you've been marked. What you must learn is to control yourself before the power leads to your destruction. If you should Fall than hope shall be lost."

"I don't understand," said Justice. "Why can't you just give me a clear answer? Why can't you tell me what's going on? Why don't you tell me who you are?"

The man paused for a second before touching the handle of his sai. The ruby gem that connected the handle to the blade began to illuminate for but a moment. "You will have all the answers you seek in due time, but as for who I am…I am one of many," said the stranger. "I am a Guardian, but you, Sam, may call me Kai."

Justice's eyes widened from behind his glasses, not because he had heard the man's name, but because Kai knew exactly who he was.


	6. Salvaging the Pieces

**Author's Note: **Thank you all for supporting the story so far! It really helps to know that I have so many people who enjoy reading this. Alright, so there won't be an update next week. I have a lot of stuff going on with school so I need to sacrifice fan fic to keep on track of my academic life. So I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Read and review.**  
><strong>

**Salvaging the Pieces: **

(Kurt)

Nothing had turned out the way that Kurt had originally planned. He never expected Dave to nearly kill him nor did he foresee the divine intervention of a superhero. That's what happened though; Kurt lost against his demon on his own but got stronger through legal involvement. Dave was locked under police custody now and it was all but certain that he'd be going away to prison.

Still, Kurt just couldn't process everything that happened. Even after he spent his entire Saturday locked in his bedroom after spending Friday night at the police station. The cops had examined Kurt over and over again, Mr. Sam was there too. Mr. Sam was the one who called his dad, causing him to leave his wedding night that he should've been spending with Carole over in Manhattan. But there they were, Kurt's dad and new step-mom were present to see the miserable state that the young man was in.

Burt was probably not the first man to attempt breaking into one of the cells. The minute that the Hummel patriarch caught sight of the monster that had been violating his son, he went on a berserk rampage. It took five cops to hold Burt down before he murdered Dave as an act of vengeance against the horrible acts committed against his son.

At least Kurt could take comfort in just how protective his father was over him. That still didn't help the boy much when it came to facing his dad when the time came. And that time had come now with Burt breaking the lock on Kurt's bedroom door, making his way down to the basement to find his son in bed.

It was absolutely shocking to see Kurt in such a distress state. It literally broke Burt's heart as he tried to understand what had been going on behind his back. There were so many questions that he had to ask as a father, but also as a human being.

Burt couldn't stand to see his little boy so broken, Kurt was nowhere near his usual self. His hair was a complete mess, he laid in bed in just a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, he was starting to stink from a lack of showering for twenty-four hours, and he exceptionally pale skin was showing. Everything about Kurt right now was screaming death. And Burt understood exactly what it was that died, Dave may not have physically killed Kurt but he did kill Kurt's spirit and pride.

That was something that wasn't easily recovered either.

Grabbing one of the chairs, Burt sat down at his son's bedside. He had brought down a bowl of his kid's favorite tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich that had the crusts cut off. It was a tradition that Burt had in place for Kurt since his mother was alive. She would always make him tomato soup and grilled cheese with no crust whenever Kurt wasn't feeling well be that him being sick or just mentally a wreck. Burt continued that tradition since he was able to make Kurt's feel-good remedy, but don't ask him to cook a chicken unless you want to be poisoned by Salmonella.

"Eat, Kurt," Burt said, firmly.

There was only the barest of movement as Kurt's stomach betrayed his determination to just retreat into his shell and die. Kurt didn't bother to fix himself up as he took the tray and began to eat, ignoring the glass of OJ for now.

Burt waited for a moment just watching his son eat. Once he was satisfied to see that Kurt had downed half of his food, Burt decided it was time to interrogate him. "How long was it happening for?" asked his father. "I know what you told the cops, but I want you to tell me."

"About a month," Kurt said. He was well aware why his father was here. He knew that his dad just wanted answers, but Kurt wasn't sure he was ready or even knew the answers. "It pretty started the night after I sang my duet with Sam when we were supposed to go to Breadsticks. He wasn't happy finding out that Sam is gay and that I sang a song with him. I just thought he was being stupid for being jealous so I tried to calm him down, but…but he wasn't convinced."

"So it all started because he was jealous of you and Sam?" said Burt. "He thought you would leave him for Sam?"

"I think so," said Kurt. "I think that's what he used to justify everything he did to me. He had to keep me on a short leash so that I wouldn't leave him."

"Then last night happened," Burt said, sadly. He ran his hands down his face, letting out a deep breath. The rage was boiling up in his stomach to storm the police station with a shotgun. He knew the cops would've backed out of the way and wouldn't get involved with him killing Dave. After all, most of their squad cars were still working because he was the one who extended their automotive lives. "They said he had forced himself on you multiple times. How true is that, Kurt?"

Kurt could only nod his head, gripping onto the glass cup. He sniffed up the tears that wanted to swell, but that wasn't enough to stop them from running down his cheeks. "Since he started the abuse, it was always forced," said the young man. "He tried to pretend like he was seducing me or that I was enjoying, but I never did. My skin would burn everytime that he touched me. Everytime he touched me, it felt like acid was being poured onto my skin."

"All I can say is that I owe my life to Justice," Kurt said, softly. A light chuckle escaped from his throat in the oddness of his situation. Not so much that he was a survivor of an abusive relationship, but who he owed his thanks to. "I never thought in a million years that I'd be rescued by a superhero, but it happened. Justice stopped Dave from trying to kill me, he put an end to the abuse."

"And now we're going to make sure that Dave gets locked away for the rest of his life," promised Burt.

He hugged his son, being a little careful not to spill the remainder of the food and drink onto the sheets. He paid a lot for Kurt's expensive tastes. All he knew was that Lord have mercy on the next boy that his son got involved with. There would be Hell to pay if even a single strand of hair was out of place on his head.

Kurt smiled as he surrendered into the hold that his father had on him, allowing the tears to flow freely at this point.

Slowly, the old Kurt was reaching back to the surface of the shell he had been locked away in.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

"I failed, Blaine! I failed so hard. How could I have not known that Kurt was being abused by Dave? I'm his best friend, I've known him since I moved to New York. I should've picked up the signs! Damnit! It was so obvious. Kurt only acted the way that he did because of Dave that son of a bitch!"

And this had been going on for the past hour.

Now, Blaine was totally supportive of his gay puppy, but Sam was really going overboard on this. As much as Sam tried to convince himself that it was obvious these things never really were as clear as the "experts" tried to make you believe. But Blaine knew better so he continued to allow his super powered friend to continue on with that rant in his lavish bedroom.

Sam had kicked the bed frame, which nearly broke from the impact of his foot. He spewed so many curses at himself and at Dave that Blaine totally missed the new variation of words that the angry southern boy had came up with at the spot.

And then an end came to all the frustrated yelling for the heroic teenager. Sam tugged on his blond head where he let his last violent growl. "I'm a total fool," Sam said, collapsing to the floor. He buried his hands behind his face for a moment before moving them away. "Why didn't I see this sooner? Kurt would never ignore me the way he did unless someone had been forcing him to." Clear thoughts began to enter his mind as he threw his head back so that it bang against the wall. The vibrations nearly shook the room as Sam looked out to the New York skyline. "I knew that Dave was an ass, but I…but I just couldn't see this one coming. I never imagined him to be an abusive, attempted murdering, rapist."

"Who could've seen that one coming?" said Blaine. "You never know what some is really like until they finally come out with it. But considering the case that is brewing up, I highly doubt that we'll be ever seeing Dave against anytime soon. No judge would allow a triple threat like him loose onto streets again. Oh wait, this is America, the criminals always win in court."

"You're not helping, Blaine," Sam practically growled.

"Sorry, but I have to play voice of reason right now," said the older teen. Blaine jumped out of his bed and started to pop a squat as he stared over at Sam. "Did you forget what you nearly did to Dave that night? You nearly killed him. Granted, he was threatening to kill Kurt, but you went a step too far, Sam."

"He had to suffer," Sam said, remembering the anger of that night. There was just so much of it. Sam had lost all control of himself the moment he caught sight of Kurt. Dave had done so much harm to that boy that there was plenty of justification for killing him.

But Sam knew better then to allow that to continue. Such behavior was unbefitting of someone like him. "I shouldn't have gone that far." Sam knew he had crossed a dangerous boundary that night. If a repeat of that happened, Sam shuddered at the thought of what he might do. He was supposed to be the hero of this story, not the killer. "I have no idea how to control it though. I don't even know where my powers come from…I barely know what I am since the accident."

Joining Sam on the floor, Blaine sat down beside his friend. He leaned to the side with his head landing on the muscular teen's shoulder. "Then you need to find help," Blaine said, shrugging his shoulders. He tilted his head up just a bit with his eyes rolled up to catch sight of the pensive look on Sam's face. "You said you were interrupted from killing Dave by some knife-wielding dude, right? He knew your name so I'm assuming that it's pretty obvious that he know what's going on or at least know in what direction to point you to."

"You're saying I should find out where his secret hideout is?"

"I say you should be scared shitless!" corrected Blaine. "We have no idea who this guy is, but he must be pretty strong to go up against you like that. Who knows how dangerous this dude is, you said his name was Kai?" He looked up to see Sam nod his head. "Alright, who is to stop Kai from ratting you out to the cops then? What if he's a villain?"

"If he was a villain, I doubt he'd care if I let Dave live or die," said Sam. "And he certainly wouldn't have helped me with Kurt."

"And that's how the villains get the heroes to drop their guard," said Blaine.

Sam wanted to laugh at just how ridiculous Blaine was being, but he couldn't picture himself cracking up. It was just something that Sam couldn't do because in all honesty he was having these worries in his own head.

Kai was a complete mystery to Sam, and until some concrete evidence was discovered to draw the lines then Sam needed to stay on his guard.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

Pity was a four letter word that Kurt could not stand. It was especially annoying as he walked along the halls of Academy of the City with different variations of the story making headlines. The official story had already been covered by the local news because of Dave's family being involved with some city affairs. Now, Kurt had to hear the different versions of his story being passed around like Rachel's almost-nose job.

It was annoying and just ridiculous for him to even think about. Kurt's brain was beginning to hurt after just getting the emotional confidence to head to school despite everything that happened. He should've known better, this is high school. He was so much better off hiding in under the covers until graduation.

But he couldn't graduation if his attendance was against him so here was Kurt, putting on his brave face. The false smiles and pitiful attempts at apologies were something that the teen could handle without a problem. He had learned to tolerate all of that during his adventures with the school bullies.

No, the trouble came when he crossed paths with his friends in New Directions. Well, it wasn't so much that he bumped into them, it was more like they were hounding him down. He had gotten a "Sorry that your boyfriend with psycho and tried to kill you card" from Brittany, which he didn't even know they made, but even Santana took pity out on the boy. Even she was disgusted by what happened and hugged Kurt, which really came as a shocker.

Then there was the ambush set up by Mercedes, Rachel, and Tina. That clothed orgy was barely one that Kurt could survive since he noticed how teary eyed they were during the whole ordeal. The moment that the bell rang to dismiss them to class, Kurt was relieved to get as far away from his friends as quickly as possible.

Kurt spent all his morning classes hiding in the boys' restroom just to get away from it all.

As strong as he pretended to be, Kurt just could not deal with all of this right now. The pity party had to stop if Kurt was going to have any chance at moving on from the hell he had went through. He just needed some time, a little bit of space to allow his mind to recover from everything that had happened. Just because his body was pretty much healed, his mind was far from recovering from the violations that it suffered.

It would be a longtime before Kurt's mind was healed. If he stayed too quite or if his thoughts strayed too far to Dave then all he could see was pain. The beatings, the rape, it was all still too fresh in his head, which was true considering that it had only been two days since the truth got out. Kurt could not stop all the thoughts, not when he knew just how close he was to meeting Death at the pearly gates.

When Kurt finally got out of the restroom, he found Finn standing by the door. By the way that his step-brother was standing there it was like he knew that Kurt was in that particular restroom and was waiting for him the whole time. Thinking back to the old crush that Kurt had on him, it was downright hilarious to see Finn in this new, almost brotherly light.

Finn put on a smile on his face as he held up Kurt's lunch bag. "You forgot it this morning," said his step-brother. "I've been holding onto it for you." He handed it over to Kurt who looked inside to see that all the food was in place. The thought that came into Finn's head made the taller teen chuckle a little bit. "What? You thought I stole some of your food or something?"

"Yeah," Kurt said, falling into the joking trap. "Tall guy like you, nobody would suspect you of stealing food. It would be the perfect crime."

"Let's go to lunch," Finn said, shaking his head as he laughed.

Things went a little better the rest of the day. Most of the pity show was over by the end of sixth period, which came as a relief to Kurt. The sooner that the world returned to normal then the sooner he'd be happy and functional. He just needed a little while to readjust to everything so that he could function when things got "normal".

And when Glee Club started up after school, Kurt had another ambush waiting for him. It was almost like getting hit by a group apology by how everyone shot him the look of pity. Their faces said how sorry they were, and how they should've known that something was wrong, and how they couldn't live with themselves for letting things go that far.

Kurt had no blame for anyone, if there was anyone to blame then it was himself. Kurt should've known that there was something off with Dave since he knew the young man's history of violence. A zebra doesn't change its stripes overnight and neither does a ferocious, psychopathic tiger. Kurt should've never gotten involved in that relationship, ever, but he allowed the idea of his first boyfriend get in the way of his reasoning.

Things began to settle down once Mr. Schuster briefly pulled Kurt aside to check on his well-being. Like with all the other teachers, Kurt lied through his teeth and Mr. Schuster was none the wiser. Once the fair-skinned teen took his seat, their meeting began.

"Alright guys, I'm proud of everything you did at Sectionals," said Mr. Schuster. "We were amazing and we killed it just like I knew we would." He paused to let the group applause get a little crazy before it naturally settled down. "Now we have Regionals coming up. We have to be on the tips of our toes, ready for any kind of theme that is thrown our way. So in order to prepare for that, I propose a battle of the sexes competition."

"Not another one," Artie said with a loud groan. "Wasn't last year's disaster proof enough that this needed to stop?"

"What happened?" asked Nicki.

"The girls decided to overdose on Vitamin D," said Mike, "and then the guys learned that too much testosterone without any estrogen was a very bad thing. Long story short, guys can't work in a super group. We have to work in smaller teams."

"This year will be better," said Mr. Schuster. "This week's assignment is a gender swap. Ladies, you will be singing songs traditionally song by men. And gentlemen, you will be singing songs traditionally song by women. Now, this can either be solo work or a group act so make it what you want."

"Wait a sec!" Puck said. "We'll have to do something different with Kurt."

"Excuse me?" said Kurt.

"Dude, all you sing is chick songs," said Puck. "I support my fellow Jews, but I can only handle hearing so much Barbara Streisand before my head explodes. Since you never sing guy songs, you should sing one."

"He has a point," said Finn. "The last song you sang by another man was back in sophomore year."

"Fine," Kurt said, rolling his eyes. "Is this just on me or are we going to do the same to Sam and Mika?"

"Sam's been singing guy songs and Mika's sung more guy songs this past month then you have in three years," said Puck.

"You keep count?" Kurt practically shouted.

"I don't need to keep count, its common knowledge," said Puck.

Despite Puck's rudeness, Kurt had actually enjoyed the little spat that he had going on. It was something to keep his thoughts away from everything that had happened to him. Kurt could almost see the old, snippy diva version of himself come out to attack the trouble-maker.

Still though, plenty of thoughts were storming around another person's head.

Sam was watching Kurt form the corner of his eye and just kept on thinking about that night. He knew Kurt well enough that this was just one of his famous masks that he was projecting. And since he was actually allowed to look at Kurt now, he knew that there was a long way his friend had to go through before he got better.

If only there was something he could do to help. Sam needed to take some time thinking up a plan, but he'd figure out something.

* * *

><p>The girls were ready to rock the joint by that Wednesday. Not only were they ready and able to go, but Mika had managed to whip Puck and Finn into musical shape by then. Everyone was curious to see what musical arrangement that Mika had set up for those two, but right now everyone had their eyes on the girls. The guys were ready to see what they had assembled in this gender swapping adventure.<p>

At center stage was Brittany, looking very poppy in her colorful, dancer's clothes. The other girls began to jump in just as the music began to play.

Brittany continued to command everyone's attention as she began to sing. "Sick and tired of hearing all these people talk about what's the deal with this pop life and when is gonna fade out." The dancer was already all over the place when Santana jumped in to claim the attention.

Santana took over the next verse with the other girls circling around her. "The thing you got to realize what we doing is not a trend. We got the gift of melody. We gonna bring it till the end. Come on now."

While the musical chaos was beginning, Tina showed up to take over the next part of the song. "It doesn't matter 'bout the car I drive or what I wear around my neck." The girl pulled on the necklace she had around her neck before flipping her hair back. "All that matters is that you recognize that it's just about respect."

Nicki turned up the heat as she started to weave her body into shape. She danced around the stage, doing her thing to get the attention that the song demanded. "It doesn't matter about the clothes I wear and where I go and why. All that matters is that you get hyped and we'll do it to you every time. Come on now."

All the girls jumped in at once, gaining the full attention of the boys and their director at this point. Mr. Schuster was smirking from how impressive the girls had switched into these boy-like roles.

"Do you ever wonder why this music gets you high? It takes you on a ride. Feel it when your body starts to rock, your body starts to rock. Baby you can't stop, you can't stop. And the music's all you got. Come on now this must be, pop."

"Dirty pop," sang Quinn. Her usually velvety smooth voice was taken out by something a little more seductive and intimidating. She let out her Queen B, while she danced around Brittany and Santana. "Baby you can't stop. I know you like this dirty pop. This must be…"

Even Rachel was attempting to build up some credit as she sang the longer verse that she demanded. The girls gave into that one since they didn't want to hear her. "Now, why you wanna try to classify the type of thing that we do.'Cause we're just fine doin what we like. Can we say the same for you? Tired of feelin all around me animosity. Just worry about yours 'cause I'ma get mine. Now people can't you see."

Brittany and Santana danced at the center of the stage, gaining full attention as Mercedes and Nicki backed each other upon the vocals. "It doesn't matter 'bout the car I drive or the ice around my neck. All that matters is that you recognize that it's just about respect, oh. It doesn't matter about the clothes I wear and where I go and why. All that matters is that you get hyped and we'll give it to you every time. Come on."

For the big finale, the girls went all as they danced around like they were dudes. "Do you ever wonder why, why? This music gets you high? Music gets you high. It takes you on a ride." They all dropped to the floor, rocking their hips forward in a seductive manner. "Feel it when your body starts to rock, your body starts to rock." They spun themselves around, each one swinging their hair back before jumping back to their feet. "Baby you can't stop, you can't stop. And the music's all you got. Baby come on. This must be, pop!"

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

After getting their well-deserved applause, the girls began to vacate the stage to give the last group of the day a chance to perform.

Finn and Puck got their equipment together, while Mika just stood there and waited for them to get going. It was still an odd group and made everyone wonder just how Mika got dragged into working with the quarterback and his best friend. That was a secret Mika was going to keep to his grave, but it involved him catching them in a very awkward situation. Plus, Finn needed to look good in front of Quinn since the Call of Duty incident and Puck owed him a favor.

Puck strummed his baby, which was a 1978 Fender. Finn was on his drums that he used to send Mika the beat to get started with the vocals. Mika waited until Puck really got strumming along before opening his mouth to let out the intro. For the song, Puck and Finn were going to focus more on the backups

"You say that I'm messing with your head," sang Mika. "All 'cause I was making out with your friend. Love hurts whether it's right or wrong. I can't stop 'cause I'm having too much fun."

Mika continued to sing, while walking along the stage. "You're on your knees begging, 'Please stay with me'." He began to pull his head and began to dance around like a wild man. "But honestly I just need to be a little crazy."

The others hammered away on their instruments, while getting a little more into the song with the vocals. Mika was going to need the horsepower that Puck and Finn had to really pump up the energy behind the song. "All my life I've been good, but now...I'm thinking, 'what the hell?' All I want is to mess around. And I don't really care about...if you love me. If you hate me. You can't save me, baby, baby. All my life I've been good but now...what the hell?"

"What?" sang Puck. "What?"

"What?" sang Finn.

"What the hell?" sang Mika.

The boy continued to prance around on the stage, looking at the crowd that was dancing around in their seats. A giddy smile was beginning to grow on his face, but he didn't let that to distract him during his performance. "So what if I go out on a million dates? You never call or listen to me anyway. I'd rather rage than sit around and wait all day. Don't get me wrong, I just need some time to play."

Mika gave his vocals a rest and this time gave the lead over to Puck. As much as it killed Puck to sing a chick song, the badass teen let it rip as he sang loud and hard. "You're on your knees begging, 'please stay with me'. But honestly I just need to be a little crazy." Which was true, Puck was a crazy, sexy beast.

The guys resumed singing, throwing out all of the energy they had for the final chorus. Puck and Finn were really wailing away at their instruments just to prove a point about how much they rocked. "All my life I've been good, but now...I'm thinking, 'What the hell?' All I want is to mess around." Mika was jumping all over the stage, letting his energy take over him as he surrendered to the music. He really was getting into it with Puck and Finn enjoying it about as much as he did. "And I don't really care about...if you love me. If you hate me. You can't save me, baby, baby. All my life I've been good but now. What the hell?"

Finally, Finn had his own line to sing in the song at the very end. Even though it was short, it was something easy enough for him to remember. "La, la, la, la, la." Finn dropped his drum sticks on the ground and really let the last set rip out from his lungs. "La, la, la, la, la."

Oddly enough, the rest of the New Directions ate up the performance with the girls directing most of their applause at Mika for whipping Finn and Puck to shape. Everyone was concerned with those two's participations since they were far too macho to sing a chick song. But Mika accomplished the impossible with them, which was completely amazing.

Sam totally felt wowed by his boyfriend.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

It was finally Kurt's turn to let it rip as Thursday came for them.

Since Puck's rude comment when Mr. Schuster assigned the gender swapping assignment, Kurt found a song that would work for what he was feeling. He owed a big thanks to Stevie for helping him with a song selection that would suit his mood. Granted, it was not a Broadway song nor was it by any of his favorite divas, but the song was perfect.

This would also help with some of the grieving that he had to do in order to move on. There was so much hurt in his heart that Kurt had no idea how he'd move on. Even knowing that everyone was out there to support him, he still felt as if he was drowning. The only thing he had to hold onto that was remotely stable was Sam, he was the only one who could keep the male diva even remotely sane at this point.

"Try not to judge me too harshly with this song," said Kurt. "It's vastly different then what I normally do, but I need to let it out. And after this, please, I beg you, don't go on about how sorry you are for what happened. I want to just move on already."

Everyone in the auditorium grew completely silent as the lights dimmed down. Sam straightened himself up on his chair and looked at the spot where Kurt was standing. And then the sound of piano playing began to draw in everyone's attention.

Standing still at the center of the stage, Kurt let the song do the talking as the opening verse softly came out from his mouth. "I open my eyes. I try to see but I'm blinded by the white light. I can't remember how. I can't remember why I'm lying here tonight."

And I can't stand the pain. And I can't make it go away. No I can't stand the pain."

"How could this happen to me. I made my mistakes. I've got nowhere to run. The night goes on as I'm fading away. I'm sick of this life." Kurt's eyes began to glaze over as he replayed the images of all of Dave's episodes in his head. It was a painful time, one that he was so happy to finally being able to get away from. "I just wanna scream…how this could happen to me?"

"Everybody's screaming, I try to make a sound but no one hears me. I'm slipping off the edge. I'm hanging by a thread. I wanna start this over again."

"So I try to hold onto a time when nothing mattered. And I can't explain what happened. And I can't erase the things that I've done, no I can't."

"How could this happen to me. I made my mistakes. I've got nowhere to run. The night goes on as I'm fading away. I'm sick of this life. I just wanna scream…how could this happen to me?"

The finale was coming and Kurt was hoping to erase all traces of Dave from his head. The trial was almost upon him, which meant that Dave's fate would be in the hands of the judge and jury. From what the cops told him, Kurt had a solid case and there was no chance of Dave getting any freedom from the actions he committed.

And in that, Kurt found his comfort to sing the end of his song.

"I made my mistakes. I've got nowhere to run. The night goes on as I'm fading away. I'm sick of this life. I just wanna scream…how could this happen to me?"

* * *

><p>The day was over and Kurt finally had the freedom to go home. He was already stuck with a long walk since he missed the train back to Brooklyn. So it was either take the bus, wait for the next train, or start walking. Since the next bus wouldn't be here for another hour, which was weird if you asked him, he figured the bus would be the next best thing. It would be unwise to just hang around at a nearly empty bus station for an hour, a lot of shit could happen.<p>

So Kurt took off when he felt someone touch his shoulder. He immediately thought that someone was going to try and snap him up. That fear passed though as soon as Kurt saw that it was Sam who had snuck up on him. A smile began to grace Kurt's face, the first real smile in a very long time.

"You missed the train too?" asked Kurt.

"Yup," Sam said, shaking his head. "What's your plan? You want to wait here for an hour or go somewhere else?"

"Well, I guess I can wait, but only if you stick around."

Sam agreed to do that as he got them a bench to sit at for the next hour. They sat down together and got to work on waiting for that train to take them to Brooklyn.

For a while, things were silent as neither one had much to say. Well, Sam didn't know what he should say considering everything that happened and how distant they had grown because of Dave. Now, things were different since all of that happened. Sam's guilt was ever present, but Kurt wasn't aware of the reasons why.

Kurt let out a deep sigh as he brought his legs up to his chest, pushing his bag off to the side. He briefly glanced over to Sam. "I have to go on trial next week," said the older boy. "I'm not exactly looking forward to this, but it has to be done. It's just…I don't know if I can deal with seeing that face again. I already destroyed every picture I had of him, and now I have to go to court and tell everyone everything that he didn't to me."

"It's a lot to ask for," Sam said, softly. "I honestly don't know how you were able to handle all of that."

"Neither do I," said Kurt. "I swore I'd never let that happen to me. I thought I got away from being the victim after going from public to private school. I was supposed to be safe. I got away from the bullies only to fall in love with a guy who would come to abuse me."

Unable to stop himself, Kurt found the waterworks coming out again. His salty tears began to run down his cheeks once more, making him feel like a complete fool. He couldn't believe himself that he was crying so openly like this. Granted, nobody was here besides Sam and a few people who weren't pay them any mind but it still wasn't the place to reveal his emotions so openly.

Once again though, Kurt had Sam swoop to his rescue.

Sam wrapped his arm around Kurt's shoulder before using his other arm to pull the teary eyed boy into a tight hug. Neither one said anything for a long while. They spent the remainder of their hour waiting for the train to come just like that. It was amazing that Kurt had enough water in his body to cry for that long and that Sam was patient enough to hold onto him as he cried for that long.

The train finally came though and that's when Kurt found enough motivation to pull himself back together. He got away from Sam's warm arms and used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe away all the tears that hadn't dried up yet. Still, Kurt could not help but to feel like a fool from all that crying he did. But Sam didn't say a word, he said nothing at all that could've been even remotely interpreted as insulting.

It was utterly amazing to Kurt just how perfect a guy Sam was.

"Why is it that whenever I'm at my weakest," said Kurt, "you're always around to pick me up? It's like you have a sixth sense when it comes to these things. I can always count on you to be there for me."

Sam couldn't help but to have a prideful smile grace his tanned face. He helped Kurt up to his feet and even carried the boy's bag for him as they stepped inside of the empty, subway cart. "I don't know how I do it, but I just do," Sam said, shrugging his shoulders. He took his seat right beside Kurt with his arm returning to the skinny shoulder. "You're my best friend, Kurt. You saved me from my loneliness when I lost my dad and sister. So I'm going to be there for you as long as you need me there."

"Unbelievable," Kurt whispered. "I'm really beginning to question who you are, Sam. You truly are one of a kind, no other guy out there can compete with you. Mika is one lucky boy."

"Don't take yourself for granted, Kurt," Sam said. "You're pretty amazing yourself."

That smile returned on Kurt's face as he looked over to Sam. Once again, Sam did the impossible by repairing a piece of the wounded pride that Kurt thought he lost. It would be a slow process, but with a friend like Sam around then it was possible to get it back.

"Sam," Kurt said, softly. "I can't face Dave in court, at least not alone. Will you come to my trial? I just need someone there, someone besides my dad or Carole or Finn."

"I'll be there," Sam said, hanging onto him, "I promise."

Kurt thanked Sam for his kindness as he rested his head onto the muscular teen's shoulder. He began to close his eyes, allowing himself to go to nap for the ride to Brooklyn. Sam looked over to Kurt, watching him slumber peacefully with his arm still around him. Kurt's hand was on Sam's leg, making that spot feel exceptionally warm from his body heat.

Now as for Sam, he was painfully unaware of the deep hole he was digging himself into. All that he knew was that he needed to be there for Kurt as much as possible. Sam had to be there to protect his friend (his love) from all harm.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

After getting Kurt home in one piece, Sam was able to sleep easy that night knowing that he was safe. Considering what he had gone through last week this was a blessing. It got Sam to relax as one crisis had been averted. He'd be there for Kurt during the trial and that promise of always being there for him was stuck like glue.

When morning came, things seemed to return to their old habits. Sam got up and got dressed before rushing to the table to get something to eat. The minute he stuffed his gut with enough food to survive until lunch, he was out the door in and gone in sixty seconds.

Sam was like a blur to his mother and brother without even using his super speed to leave. Nevertheless, Sam was making his way to school the long way, which was actually the shorter way for him. He decided that today he'd use his superpowers to take him to school instead of relying on the unreliable public transportation system. He felt plenty confident in his abilities that he barely even realized that somebody was there watching him.

In fact, the young hero was so blind to this that he had started to take flight when he felt a presence there. Sam spun his neck back around where he briefly caught glimpse of the man who stopped him from killing Dave. Dressed up in that blue ninja outfit, the man who had kept Sam from murdering Dave was right there, watching him closely.

The man had a smile hidden behind his robes, but his eyes gave away his expression. He took off running in Sam's general direction before jumping pass him to the next building. Gracefully, he landed on his feet without any trouble at all. This mysterious man shot Sam a salute before taking off running to the next building.

Somehow, Sam felt this to be some kind of test. This man wanted to see what Sam could do and was acting cocky to prove a point. Granted, Sam had no idea what this point might be but he felt compelled to chase him anyways. So using his flight and speed, the hero wannabe ricocheted towards the ninja wannabe.

This chase went on for about five minutes before the man pulled out his sai.

Sam immediately stopped flying as soon as the weapon was drawn. He touched the rooftop of the building and landed with a screeching halt just inches away from the tip of the blade.

"Excellent reflexes," said the mysterious man. He returned his sai to its proper place before walking away from the paralyzed Sam. "I see that you hold a great deal of potential. The Elder Ones made the right decision in marking you as a their Elect."

"Can you quit with the mind games?" said Sam. "You know who I am and I have no idea just who you are. What the hell are you supposed to be? Why do you know so much about me and what I can do?"

The man didn't say or do anything for a moment. He simply stared at Sam, noticing the brewing anger that was boiling within the teen. Finally, he decided to break that silence as he began to approach the young man. "That is the duty of a Guardian," said the mystery man. "Our job is to protect the world from those who disrupt the balance that keeps Harmony and Discord in check. If Discord were to gain too much momentum then the balance can shatter until Harmony finds a way to restore order."

"So you protect balance?" Sam asked, trying to figure him out. A baffled look graced the young man's face as he tried to piece everything together. It was all still too vague for him, but it was better then what he had before. "It's all about Harmony and Discord then? Why are you here then? Am I supposed to be a Guardian?"

"Hardly," laughed the man. "No, you are something else entirely. Where Guardians are chosen by the strength and purity of our heart, your kind are chosen in death by a spirit. A spirit will allow you to be revived with a part of them merged into you being, giving you power beyond your wildest dreams. My job is to make sure that you Spirit-Warriors don't disrupt balance, but it seems that balance is already becoming disarrayed. I am willing to bet that the spirit that revived you was for the purpose of restoring balance."

"And you would know that because?"

"Do you think you were just creative by calling yourself Justice?" said the man. "No, Samuel Evans, the spirit that gave you life and power was the Spirit of Justice. The spiritual essence of Justice has become one with you, giving you the power to stand against the injustices of the world."

"Wait!" Sam shouted. "You're telling me that the thing that looked like my father was really the Spirit of Justice? I was brought back to life for a divine purpose, not because I'm just so nice and heroic?"

The man could already hear the fascination by the teenage boy's voice. It was remarkable, this generation truly was an odd breed, but he thought it had more to do with the boy being an American. "Justice wants you to accomplish a mission," said the man. "It will not stand to see any injustice and will push you to any means to make sure that justice has been made. And that is why you lost control of yourself the other night, the spirit took full control of yourself because you dropped your guard. There is nothing more dangerous than a Spirit-Warrior who loses control of himself and the spirit that has merged with his body."

Sam flinched as he realized just how true that was. If what the man said was true then that certainly explained why Sam couldn't stop himself that night. He would've killed Dave had this Guardian not stepped in the way and put a stop to him.

"I guess I owe you a thank you then," said Sam. "If it wasn't for you then I would be a murderer, not a hero."

"Just try to maintain control of yourself, Sam," said the Guardian. "I would hate to have to put a Sai through your chest." He held his hands up until they touched the fabric that covered his face.

Slowly, the Guardian began to unwound them until his face was completely free to take in the fresh air. Sam looked at this stranger, not expecting at all to see what he did. The man was young, probably only a few years older than he was with a slightly tanned face and angled features. No doubt that he was Oriental too, possibly Chinese, since Sam recognized that look about him. His hair was a lighter shade of brown that was cut in layers, worn straight and flat because of the wrappings that had covered his head.

The Guardian held out the hand that wasn't holding onto the fabric to Sam. There was a brief pause for a moment before Sam accepted the gesture and they shook. "My name is Kai," said the young man. "I will be here to monitor the level of spiritual activity in New York City. Soon Sam, forces will stir with superhuman abilities. I hope that when this time comes that you'll be ready to face these horrors. But I will be there to assist you when you need it."

"You still haven't explained how you know my name, Kai," said Sam.

"I can't give away all my secrets now," Kai said with a smile on his face.

Kai took his hand away from Sam and waved the blond off. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving Sam behind as he completely vanished.

Even though Sam had no idea what this Kai guy was up to, he felt that he could rely on the Guardian whenever the time came. Still, the warning played in his head and caused the teen to think a little more cautiously for the threats that were coming.

Right now though, Sam needed to worry about getting his ass to school on time. The bell was about to ring soon.

* * *

><p>Moving back on track before the bell rang, Sam made it to school just in time. He was in the building and in homeroom just before the tardy bell went off. Not that he was in danger or anything since Mr. Schuster gave all his students a two minute grace period. Seriously, five minutes wasn't enough time to get to class on time if you had to run across campus or get something from you locker andor have to use the bathroom.

Then there was Sam's case, you couldn't learn everything about this Guardian who knew a lot about you in five minutes. Alright, so Sam had a lot more than five minutes to speak with Kai, but a point had to be made. If he wasn't so concerned with the secret identity thing then maybe he would've brought it up at a student council meeting that he'd never attend in a million years.

As bell after bell went off and the day was winding down to a close, Sam felt a little giddy about Glee Club. Today was his, Artie, and Mike's positively epic performance. They spent virtually all week on it, and Sam was sure that they would kick ass. The song they chose would be worthy of worship once they were done whipping its ass.

One his way to the auditorium, he was too focused on the performance to foresee the incoming sneak attack. Well, it wasn't so much a sneak attack since the kid was so damn obvious. The way the heels of his boots clanked against the tile made it pretty clear just where he was going.

"Gotcha!" Mika said, grabbing him from behind.

Sam was initially shocked by this sudden ambush. His first instinct was to start breaking some skulls but he retracted himself once he realized that it was Mika. "Are you trying to scare the hell out of me?" Sam said, chuckling a little. The younger boy had a tight grip on him so Sam just had to go along with it. He took hold of Mika's hands and started to walk down the hall like that. "Now, why are you creeping the halls like some kind of creeper?"

"I'm not a creeper, I was calling you for like a whole minute," said Mika. "Anyways, I wanted to know if you'd like to go on another date with me like next week?"

"That sounds like fun," said Sam. "What do you have in mind?"

"No idea whatsoever. I just know that I'll probably get hungry on this possible date."

"Would you like to go out to dinner then?" asked Sam.

"It's a date then!" Mika said, releasing Sam at this point. The boy was grinning broadly as he jumped in front of Sam then stood on the tips of his toes. He kissed Sam on the cheek before sprinting down the hall to the auditorium.

Sam couldn't help but to shake his head and smile as he saw Mika running down the hallway. He really did like the boy, he made him feel good which is what mattered most of all to Sam.

But all that goodness came crashing to a halt when Sam caught sight of Kurt coming in from an intersecting hallway. Mika held the door open for Kurt, saying high to the upperclassman who returned the greeting with a smile. The minute that those two went inside, Sam just felt his mental well-being coming to a crash. The door closed and he found himself completely standing still in the middle of the hallway as one thought came to mind.

"I can't like them both," whispered Sam. "This is so wrong. I can't still be in love with Kurt since I like and am dating Mika. Plus, Kurt is nowhere near emotionally able to handle a romantic relationship with anyone else, not after everything that's happened with Dave. Oh God, I'm so fucked up in the head. What is wrong with me?"

Continuing to rant on to himself, Sam went down the hall as he tried to fix the mental and emotional trouble he was digging himself into. Sam could not lead a sweet kid like Mika on if he was in love with Kurt. It would be wrong, insulting, and not to mention devastating. Besides, Sam really had to remember that there would be no guarantee that Kurt liked him. Just because they were both gay meant nothing. Heck, he jumped off a ledge by asking Mika to go out on a date with him before.

So Sam needed to revaluate himself, he would focus on the here and now. Kurt was out of the picture now. Any and all feelings would be simply tossed aside as being a simple crush. Mika was his present and that's what Sam should be concerning himself with. At least that's what he tried to convince himself as he entered the auditorium where he saw the two sitting next to each other in the front row.

It looked like it wouldn't be that easy for him after all.

* * *

><p>The stage was lit and the three of them took their positions. Sam was standing in the center with Mike and Artie to his left and right. The other boys nodded their heads, signaling that they were ready to begin. Sam took in a breath just as the music let out the first beat before hitting their audience with the opening.<p>

"Till the world ends…remix."

Artie let out some noises that created a bit of an echo on the stage before wiggling himself to the front. "Chimpanzee's is hatin' but I take it all in stride." He started to wave his arm in the air with Sam and Mike dancing behind him. "Put her in a jungle with bananas on the side. Told you they'd revive your career but somebody lied. I ain't talking poultry when I say this chicken's fried." Sam and Mike made some chicken noises behind Artie just for dramatic effect, while he dropped to his knees.

Sam danced forward with Mike standing like a thug. Artie threw his hand back at Sam, while the blond was approaching him. "Anyway Sammy, why they so jealous that you teamed up with me. Tell 'em they my son, yup, gyal `em a mi pickney. Anyway, burned , what's that, I don't know, femme fatale."

Artie still went off on his intro rap, throwing his hands all around for dramatics. He certainly caught the attention of everyone in the audience, however. "Sniff, sniff, cries, I done splayed your whole entire effing life. Oh oh, you got some Epson Salt. I done balled all day you ain't touched the court. What, what you tired, you need a break. You was hot when? Ricki Lake!"

Now it was Sam's turn to become the center of attention. "I notice that you got it. You notice that I want it. Know that I can take it to the next level baby." Sam actually went to the next level with that part as he channeled a little more Britney in him. "If you understood this, this is the remix. Baby let me blow your mind tonight."

"It's Sammy, beoch. I'm Artie Abrams and that's Mikey!"

Mike was up to bat now as he showed off the extra vocal lessons that he had been taking. It was odd to think how a few years ago he couldn't carry a note and now he was able to hold his own during a song. "I can't take it, take it, take no more. Never felt like, felt like this before. C'mon get me Get me on the floor. DJ, what you, what you waitin' for…"

All three of them threw their fists up into their air as they began to jump around on the stage, hitting their crowd with more energy. "WOAH OH OH OH OH OH…WOAH OH OH OH…WOAH OH OH OH OH OH WOAH OH OH OH…"

Returning to center stage, Sam moved his body from side to side. He leaned to one side before switching it up to the other. "Watch me move when I lose, when I lose it hard. Get you off with the touch dancing in the dark." Mike and Artie continued to dance about, while Sam went to straightening out the clothes he was wearing. "You notice what I'm wearin'. I'm noticin' you starin'. You know that I can take it to the next level, baby. Hotter than the A-list. Next one on my hit list. Baby, let me blow your mind tonight!"

Artie pushed Mike forward who then took the liberty to slide to the ground. "I can't take it, take it, take no more," sang Mike. He allowed himself to go a little crazy as he spun his head around a bit. "Never felt like, felt like this before. C'mon get me Get me on the floor. DJ, what you, what you waitin' for…"

"WOAH OH OH OH OH OH WOAH OH OH OH..WOAH OH OH OH OH OH WOAH OH OH OH..WOAH OH OH OH OH OH WOAH OH OH OH..WOAH OH OH OH OH OH WOAH OH OH OH…"

They continued to dance about the stage, commanding full attention for the routine that they had developed. The girls went wild with their cheers, while the other guys had to give them their props. "See the sunlight, we ain't stoppin'. Keep on dancing till the world ends. If you feel it, let it happen. Keep on dancing till the world ends. Keep on dancing till the world ends."

"Keep on dancing till the world ends," sang Mike.

Slowly, the music began to build up as they stomped the stage. The three of them worked in sync with the moves that they had formed, which caused the tension to really go wild for their big finale. "WOAH OH OH OH OH OH WOAH OH OH OH…"

"See the sunlight, we ain't stoppin'," sang the boys. "Keep on dancing till the world ends. If you feel it, let it happen. Keep on dancing till the world ends. Keep on dancing till the world ends."

Cheers flooded the auditorium at this point as their audience gave the boys a standing ovation. The boys locked their arms together before taking their bow, eating up the applause that they had got from their peers.

* * *

><p>Songs featured:<p>

"Pop" by N'Sync

"What the Hell" by Avril Lavigne

"[Untitled]" by Simple Plan

"Till the World Ends (remix)" by Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Ke$ha

p.s. Chord is coming back to Glee! Life has meaning again.


	7. Close But Far Away

**Author's Note: **Forgive me for such a long wait! I am so sorry. I'm having computer issues and I had a million midterms to study for. But now I shall be good until Finals start to show up in December. Hopefully, I won't be slammed with all of them on the same day. Haha. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. Oh, and I need a song selection for Nationals. I need two songs that you want to see performed. I already have the Regional songs selected, but Nationals are a complete blank. Don't forget to include who you want to perform then I'll select the best ones. That is all. Read and review!**  
><strong>

**Close But Far Away:**

(Kurt)

"On the night of October 22nd, you and Mr. Karofsky left the reception together when he forced you into his car and tied you up. Is this correct, Mr. Hummel?"

"Yes it is," Kurt said, softly.

Kurt sat in the stand, testifying his case against Dave. It was remarkable how quickly the case was pushed through, but that had to deal with the overwhelming stack of evidence and Sam's uncle's influence on the matter. The case had originally been scheduled for January, but here they were on November 3rd, in court.

In this chaotic mess, the young man was completely wrecked, mentally as he tried to get through this trial in one piece. It had been almost two weeks since the day he nearly lost his life to Dave. Kurt stared into the eyes of the man who nearly ended him, seeing the pain of a man who had lost all control of himself. If Kurt hadn't been an inch to losing his life than he just might have felt a little sorry for Dave and might have even wished that they might give him a lighter sentence.

But after everything that happened, all that sweet goodness had died within Kurt as he looked back to his lawyer. She was just about middle-aged and her hair had a light streak of gray in it that really made her dignified. Mrs. Grayson was a remarkable lawyer, one of the best in the state when it came to matters of domestic and relationship abuse. This was the kind of trials that she excelled in, which is why his dad had hired her in the first place. She even cut them a discounted fee since Mrs. Grayson wanted to prove a point how abuse knows no gender, but the real reason was probably for the added publicity she'd get from civil rights groups.

"Things had been sour before than though," said Mrs. Grayson. "This wasn't the first night that David Karofsky forced himself on you. He had been abusing you for quite some time before that night, correct?"

"Yes," Kurt said, telling the truth. "It had been going on a little over a month."

The young man let out a soft sigh as he looked into the audience in the courtroom. Not many people were there, it wasn't that high-profile, even though Dave came from a fairly, well-to-do Russian family. It pretty much was just his family, Sam and his family, and a few law students.

"Can you tell the court what had been going on between you and David? What was your relationship like before the abuse started? Are you aware of what might have caused the abuse?" asked Mrs. Grayson.

"We were fine," Kurt confessed. "Everything was going great until the abuse started. I thought I was actually falling in love. David was good, he was sweet to me. He'd take me to school every morning, we'd eat lunch together, and we'd go out on the weekends. It was a little cheesy like the romance movies, but that stopped over a month ago."

"And the cause?" asked Mrs. Grayson.

"I can't say what it exactly was, but the first time he hit me was after I had sung a duet with my best friend, Sam, in glee club," said Kurt. "We were having a competition, the winning duet partners got a free dinner to Breadsticks. Sam and I had been practicing all week and we actually won it, I didn't think we would but we were pretty amazing."

"We decided to cash it in on Saturday night; I was getting ready when Dave showed up. He was upset that I was going out with Sam; I tried to calm him down and explain that it didn't mean a thing, but since he found out that Sam was gay, he didn't believe me. Dave pushed me against the wall and took my phone. He pretended to be me and texted Sam, cancelling our plans. He then took me from my house and drove me to his place. He made me stay with him the rest of the night to make sure I wouldn't try to sneak out with Sam."

Mrs. Grayson nodded her head with the judge, the opposing counsel, and the jury listening carefully to Kurt's story. The lawyer held up a folder and examined the contents for a moment. "The abuse didn't stop there," said Mrs. Grayson. "You said that David began to hit and rape you from then on."

"Yes," said Kurt. "He didn't hit me often, but he would…rape me." It burned Kurt's throat as he forced himself to say the word rape. He wanted to vomit as he felt the squeezing pain that Dave would inflict on him during their sexual moments. "Dave knew that sex always hurt with me. He didn't bother to be gentle, except when on a rare occasion, but either way it was never consensual. After a while though…I just stopped begging him to stop. I felt like there was no point in trying so I simply surrendered and gave up."

"Then came the night of October 22nd," said Mrs. Grayson. "David took you from your father's wedding where he raped and threatened to kill you before this mysterious Justice intervened. Justice stopped David, leaving behind serious injuries before taking you and David to the police station."

"Correct," Kurt said, remembering the boiling anger on Justice's face. It was something so horribly frightening, but Kurt still felt oddly secure by this powerful man's presence as he nearly beat Dave to an inch of his life. "Justice would've killed Dave, but he stopped himself. He has more restraint than Dave. Dave would've killed me had Justice not shown up when he did."

"Thank you, Kurt," said Mrs. Grayson. "No further questions, your honor."

Mrs. Grayson left floor and Kurt was allowed to leave the stand. The young man returned to the table with Mrs. Grayson to regroup for their certain victory over Dave.

Dave's lawyer was looking a little nervous at this point, well aware that this would not be an easy case to win. As for Dave, he still had a broken arm and some cracked ribs plus a black eye, he didn't exactly care at this point. He wanted this to be over almost as badly as Kurt did. Dave knew he was guilty, he couldn't deny that, but as long as his father was paying for his lawyer to fight than this wouldn't be over soon.

And Sam, well, it took everything that he had not to do something. Sam had his fists tightened into a ball as they began to grow pale while listening to everything that Kurt had to say on the stand. Sam was almost as outraged as Mr. Hummel, and he wanted nothing more than to finish Dave off. But Sam couldn't afford to lose control over that part of himself, not again.

The judge called for a recess to give everyone a chance to reorganize themselves for about two hours, giving the people involved a chance to eat as well. So the courtroom cleared out with only two hours away before a verdict could be drawn.

* * *

><p>It was almost too slow how time ticked as the final testimonies had been made.<p>

Kurt sat outside of the courtroom with his lawyer, dad, and step-mother. They were going over the odds of winning the trial, which Mrs. Grayson assured them were a hundred percent. It was made completely certain by all the evidence they had against Dave, plus Kurt's testimony. There was no denying that Dave would be found guilty, but now the problem would be just what his sentence would be.

Kurt looked off to the side, ignoring the adults as he saw Sam sitting with Stevie beside him and talking to Finn about something. They seemed to be talking pretty serious about something, but Kurt didn't know exactly what though. Knowing them, it probably involved video games or football or both. Then again, if it was football than Stevie would've looked far more uninterested than he did. Stevie just appeared more distraught than anything else, probably mortified for having to hear exactly what happened with Kurt. It was true; Stevie's skin was crawling as he felt all the pain that Kurt had experienced in his bleeding heart.

The doors opened up with everyone being ushered back into the courtroom.

And the moment finally came. Kurt sat back at the table with his lawyer, waiting for the jury to make their return. When the juror stood on his feet and gave out the verdict, Kurt's heart founds it way into his throat as he suddenly felt himself being constrict. All of his nerves were going wild as the juror let those fatal words out.

"We, the jury, find David Karofsky guilty of physical and sexual abuse and attempted murder," said the juror.

There was a pause as the judge came up with a fitting punishment. That was about another ten minutes before he finally reached his conclusion. "David Karofsky," said the judge, "I sentence you to twenty-fives to life in state prison. You can apply for parole after fifteen years once you pass a psychiatric evaluation on your behavioral stability by a certified therapist."

Kurt just blurred out all of that extra information as he focused on only one thing. Dave was guilty; he would potentially spend the rest of his life in prison. It came as a relief to the young man as he finally felt some justice as to everything that he had went through.

After some more legal jargon, David was dragged out of the court with a police officer and his lawyer. The rest of the courtroom was slowly cleared out with Kurt being escorted out by his lawyer and family, all of them smiling the whole way out.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

Things had gotten to be very quite since the trial had ended. It was over before Sam had even knew it, but he was grateful that the ordeal didn't last too long, for Kurt's sake. After everything that Dave had put Kurt through, the fair-skinned teen needed to find some kind of closure after all of that.

From Sam's perspective, he thought that Kurt would finally be able to put the ordeal behind him. Maybe not right away, but the divide was beginning to rapidly close. It was a freedom that would soon be bestowed upon Kurt with any luck very soon.

Now that he was done for the day, Sam began to strip out of the courtroom attire that he had on. He wasn't overly dressed up, but he looked presentable enough to be in a courtroom with the fitted pants and maroon long-sleeved shirt with the matching tie. He kicked off the loafers he had on with his feet embracing their freedom once the socks were ripped off. The rest of the clothes soon began to pool around Sam's feet as he stood in his bedroom in nearly all of his glory.

Just as the teen got some clothes back on, there was a knock at his door.

"Give me a second!" Sam shouted, impatiently. He grabbed a muscle shirt from his dresser before securing his sweatpants. Dressed comfortably, Sam opened the door to find himself in for a little surprise. Instead of being either his mother, brother, or uncle, it was someone who mattered a lot to him. "Kurt."

The young Hummel stood on the other side of the doorway with a light smile gracing his face. He was still dressed up in his courtroom attire: the sweater-vest combo he had going was very runway model and Sam didn't even want to think of how the slacks fit the curve of his backside.

"Hey Sam," Kurt said, softly. "I didn't get a chance to talk to you after the trial. I just wanted to thank you for being there for me, you have no idea how much it meant to me, you being there." The young man took his left arm to grab onto his right one as he began to rub it gently. He began to hang his head low, looking down almost in shame. "But I am sorry that you had to hear all of that, just know that I don't blame you. You were Dave's scapegoat. I don't want you to think that it was because of you coming out that Dave started to abuse me."

Sam felt a knot tighten in his stomach as he took a moment to think about it. Dave did use him as a scapegoat to make Kurt's life miserable. It was sickening, but it was the truth. Sam wanted nothing more than to end Dave's life now as retribution, but looking into Kurt's teary-looking eyes was enough to hold him back.

Without any hesitation, Sam pushed himself to take hold of Kurt in his arms. He hugged the older boy as tightly as he could without resulting in the use of any of his superhuman strength. "I don't blame you," Sam whispered to Kurt. "I could never blame you. Kurt, you're my best friend."

But that thought was erased as Sam shook his head as he pulled away from Kurt. "No, scratch that, you're the first real friend I've had who isn't related to me," Sam spoke, honestly. "You mean so much to me, Kurt. I won't let anyone hurt you. Just promise me that if any guy ever tries this again, you let me know no matter what. I'll protect you. You'll never have to be afraid or ashamed of yourself again."

There was a tear that began to run down Kurt's cheek as he listened to Sam's open confession. Well, it wasn't the open confession that Sam wanted it to be, considering bot their situations, but it was truth. Sam had to let Kurt know this; Kurt needed to know that Sam would protect him from harm.

And it had seemed to gotten through to the young man as he brushed the tear away from his face. Kurt allowed himself to fall deeper in Sam's hug as he rested his head against the chest of the southern boy. "How is it that you always know when to say the right thing?" asked Kurt. "No matter how bad I feel, no matter how badly I just want to give up, you always can pull me back from the edge. You have a real gift, Samuel Evans. I can really think of you as my hero, which is sad since I'm the older one here." That last part had a bit of a chuckle in it as Kurt hid his laugh behind the shirt that Sam was wearing.

But the feeling was all there as Sam released Kurt from his embrace. He said nothing more as he brought Kurt into his room and had him sit down on the bed before taking off to the kitchen. Sam quickly grabbed some peanut butter cookies that his mom baked with two glasses of milk. The whole house was silent as Sam made his return to his bedroom, but not until Sam caught a brief glance of his mother going upstairs to her room. Clearly, she was the one who let Kurt in.

Returning to his room, Sam handed Kurt a glass of milk plus a few cookies. Despite the fact that Kurt was forever dieting, the young man accepted the gesture and took the first delicious bite into the cookie. Kurt's taste buds began to sing as he welcomed the warm deliciousness of Sheila Evans's peanut butter cookies.

"You're mom always did bake the best cookies," Kurt said, smiling. "I'm truly jealous of her, so is Carole. I guess everyone in your family has to be amazing at something."

"I guess that's true," said Sam. "My mom is a great baker, Stevie is a good cook, and my uncle is a great cop." Sam paused for a moment as he took a small bite from his cookie. Once he swallowed he looked over to Kurt, deciding to open up a little more. "My dad was fantastic at everything though, so was my sister. They were both just so remarkable no matter what it was that they did, they were always the best."

"Well, Sam, I think you're pretty amazing too," Kurt said, dunking his cookie into the milk. He shoved the entire cookie into his mouth, feeling remarkably better as he reunited with his best friend. "You sell yourself short, but you're an amazing guy. I'm glad to have you as my friend. I don't know what I'd do without you around."

"Let's never find out," Sam said, slinging an arm around Kurt. "Does that sound like a good trade?"

"Sounds good to me," Kurt said, leaning against Sam. "Do you mind if I spend the night. I just want to get away from home for a little while. Granted, you're house is right next door, but I'm sure you understand what I mean."

"Of course," Sam said, leaving the rest of his milk and cookies on the nightstand. He went over to the dresser and dug for some appropriate clothing for Kurt to change into. "These should fit. Make yourself at home. You already know where everything is at."

Kurt thanked Sam as he took the clothes and went off to change.

As for Sam, the blond was completely giddy as he watched Kurt vanish into the bathroom. It was a remarkable feeling to have, but there was a little bit of guilt behind it. Sam didn't give a damn though. He was just happy that he finally had Kurt back in his life.

He finally had his friend back.

* * *

><p>(Kai)<p>

"A storm is gathering," whispered the young Guardian.

In the safety of his virtually, empty loft, Kai embraced his privacy as he resumed his training. A good Guardian needed to always be ready for battle against the spiritual forces that threatened balance. His body and mind needed to be perfectly honed, in balance like the world around them.

Everything had to be in harmony though, even his loft which was littered with only the barest of essentials. What was in his home had to involve around his personal survival and training, which was why it was mostly empty. Most modern convinces were abandoned except for a small television and computer to keep up with current events, plus his cooking supplies and the air conditioner. The A/C unit was something that not even this well-trained Guardian was willing to relinquish.

Kai walked away from the windowsill that his lean frame was sitting on. His pants hanging remarkably loose from his hips as he walked into the empty space he had set up for his training. The dim light that Kai had set up alongside the candlelight applied a remarkable contrast against his rich skin-tone. His muscles looked exceptionally developed against the dimmer candlelight, which was seen as he removed his shirt and left it on the ground.

The hardened abdominals and pectorals showed what years of training could do for the body. The rest of his chest represented this determination along his arms and shoulders with all the muscles groups there in perfect harmony with the rest of his body. Not a single portion of him was overdeveloped; it all had to be in sync so that a Guardian could always remember his significance in the world.

Training began as Kai weaved himself around the room with his feet hardly making a single sound. He performed his acrobatic maneuvers as he flipped around in the air before coming in for the landing. He practiced his martial arts as well as he trained himself to remember how to use his takedown skills. Most of his fighting included takedown moves since he tended to fight humans more than actual spirits, but that was going to change soon.

But Kai ceased all those thoughts, after all his training, and focused solely on finishing his training. The words of his father were installed into his mind, reinforcing that focus and the importance of being a Guardian. Kai was a defender of this world from the malicious spirits that sought to bring the world into discord and chaos. Those who were trained to protect balance and harmony then needed to fight with all of their might in order to ensure the survival of the world.

It was a lesson that Kai learned well on the day that his father had died and passed on the Guardian power to him.

Long before their death, a Guardian would choose their successor. There had been rare occasions were a Guardian would perish before they could find and train their replacement so the chose forced onto some unknown host. For the most part though, the power was passed down from parent to child. Bloodlines protected this power, except for the occasional divergence when no blood heir was possible.

If Kai was going to die tomorrow then his power would be transferred to the nearest, worthy candidate because he had no child. That wasn't something that Kai could foresee in his near future, but the way that things were changing it would be all left to chance.

Kai picked up one of his sai and threw it to the wall where it stuck. The gem at the center began to glow, picking up signs of the coming changes. And this message was relayed to Kai who was left chilling in the wake of this.

"More than a storm is coming," whispered Kai. "The world will face true destruction unless this spirit can be quelled. Sam Evans, I hope you are up to the challenge. The survival of this world rests in your hands."

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

A very special date night was about to be commenced. Sam was a little nervous about Mika coming over for dinner, especially since this was the first time that he ever brought a romantic interest home. It would feel all the more awkward too since Kurt had spent the night two days ago. But that was something he wasn't going to tell Mika about, at least not since they weren't an official-official couple.

Then again, meeting the family was kind of a very big deal.

Sam was a bit of a nervous wreck as he walked out of his bedroom to check on how dinner was coming along. His mom and Stevie were working on something special, while his Uncle Sam was getting decent since his shift at the station was over. In a just a few more minutes, Mika would be here for the big night. This was almost enough to cause Sam to throw up as he went to the bathroom to compose himself and try to ensure himself that everything would be just fine.

But things were about to get even worse when Mika finally showed up and dinner had begun.

It didn't start off bad, mind you. Everything was just fine when the initial introductions were made; Sam's mother even pulled him off to the side and approved of the choice he made. Mika even managed to get Stevie and Uncle Sam to laugh after cracking a joke on them. So Sam had thought things would be fine, but that didn't last long after they had sat down at the table.

And it all had to do with Uncle Sam opening his big mouth. Not that Sam could blame him; the question was innocent and not meant to create so much tension.

"Mika, what do your parents do for a living?" asked Uncle Sam. "Do you have any siblings?"

"I have four siblings, actually," said Mika, "an older sister and three older brothers, the triplets. It's a bit of a full house." The boy laughed a little bit at his own bad joke, which caught a similar response from Sam's mother. Sam felt sorrowful as he knew what was coming next when Mika frowned a little. "My mother passed on when I was younger, so its just my dad."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Sheila Evans. "I lost my husband and daughter a few years ago, as well. That's the reason why we moved to New York."

"Sam told me about that. I'm sorry to hear about your loss," Mika said, sadly. "Well, my dad runs a weapons development corporation. He works with the military in the U.S. and European countries. He's actually closing a deal right now to work with China."

"Wow," said Uncle Sam, "that's certainly amazing. Will you be venturing into the family business?"

"No," said Mika. "My brothers will be running it together. Granted, I will inherit some shares when I turn eighteen, but I plan on giving those up to my brothers like my sister did. I'm not fond of weapons and I actually don't want to be a part of what my dad and brothers do."

"Fair enough," said Uncle Sam. "What's your father's name, Mika? Your last name is Valentine, so would you happen to be Drake Valentine's son?"

"That's daddy," Mika said as he took a sip from his soda.

That admission was enough to cause Uncle Sam to grow virtually silent for the remainder of the night. Sam found that to be completely odd since his uncle was a very talkative man. His mother and brother found that to be strange as well, but did not say anything at all about that since they did have company.

As for Mika, he was none the wiser as to what was going on amongst the Evans' family.

So after dinner was over and Mika had gotten picked up by his driver, Sam pulled his uncle into the living room to have a chat as his mother and brother was cleaning. He needed to have a serious talk with his uncle since that sudden rudeness couldn't go on without questioning.

"What was that all about?" said Sam. "You nearly flipped out when you found out who Mika's dad is."

"For good reason, Samuel," said his uncle. "Do you have any idea who you're dating? Do you have any idea who Drake Valentine is?"

"He runs a weapons development corporation," Sam said, repeating Mika's words. "I know that he had tried to work with Blaine's family, but Mr. Anderson refused."

And that's when things became serious. The shit practically hit the fan as Uncle Sam tugged on Sam's arm and pointed out the window. "It's because Drake Valentine is a criminal," said his uncle. "Do you have any idea how much criminal activity that Mika's father is potentially involved in? He is possibly a kingpin in the criminal world."

"Kingpin?" Sam said, breathlessly. "So that means."

"You could be in serious trouble if things go sour between you and Mika," said Uncle Sam. "If Valentine cares enough about his son then you might face some serious consequences. And then you have to consider how far Mika has fallen from the tree. If he's anything at all like his father could potentially then you could be in serious trouble."

That was all that Sam was left with as his uncle took off to his bedroom, leaving his nephew behind with his eyes practically exploding from their sockets.

* * *

><p>(Blaine)<p>

Today was going along swimmingly for the young Anderson as he made his way back into his penthouse. Mindlessly, he hummed along the words to a Katy Perry song before his cell phone began to ring relentlessly. Blaine had no need to even check who was calling him, the nerdy ringtone was proof enough that it was his young protégée.

It had been going off for so long and Blaine was actually feeling a little guilty for ignoring him for so long. Not that it was his fault, Blaine was just a very busy young socialite. Plus, he was more concerned in the affairs of the future father of his adopted children than the young Evans.

But he couldn't go on ignoring him any longer, it was a cruel and unusual punishment, which was very unconstitutional. So without wasting anymore time, Blaine took out his phone and finally answered it.

"Yes, Samuel," Blaine said, calmly. "What is bothering you today? Did you just find out that Spock Jr. is gay?"

"Yeah, like anyone was blindsided by Zachary Quinto coming out of the closet," said Sam. "No, I need to talk to you about Mika. What do you know about his family?"

Blaine slung his shoulder bag from his shoulders before throwing it on top of his luxurious mattress. Slowly, he began to peel off the layers of his Dalton uniform as he tried to find out where this was going. "The Valentines?" asked Blaine. "I know a few things about them. I told you that my father dealt with Mika's father a few times in the past. There were talks of a merger once, but my father backed out because of Mr. Valentine's shady behavior. Drake Valentine is not exactly the most positive role model in the world. I'm actually totally surprised that Mika isn't some lunatic too. I know his brothers are like the biggest scum on the planet."

"So is there any truth that Mika's father is a criminal kingpin?" asked Sam.

"I'm guessing your uncle told you about that?" said Blaine. "Well, it's a fact that Drake Valentine has been involved in some questionable projects. That was part of the reason why my father left the deal. There is no concrete evidence that can call Drake Valentine a kingpin, however."

"My uncle said that the cops are just itching to find some sliver of evidence to lock him up."

"I'm not surprised," said Blaine. "Drake Valentine could potentially be involved in a great deal of global crime. If the cops can catch him than it would stop a rampaging behemoth. Sammy, I highly recommend that you are cautious around Mika. I don't doubt the kid's intentions, but his family is potentially dangerous. You are venturing into some murky territory."

"Thanks for the consideration, Blaine," said Sam. "I'll be careful. It will be easier too now that I know would I could be potentially facing."

"Alright than, Sam, take care," Blaine said, before hanging up.

And not it was time for him to get ready for bed.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

It was a long night for Kurt as he finally made his way out of the public library. The one at the school was inadequate for the research that he had to do for his midterm paper, which was due before the winter break. Granted, it was barely November, but Kurt wanted to have at least the research out of the way so that he could spend the rest of his time typing away.

And since he was finally motivated enough to do something, Kurt took advantage of his sense of relief. Dave was already being sent away to the state prison, which meant there would be a remarkable amount of distance between them both. This helped to push Kurt out of his depressed state a little bit, just enough to get him to catch up on school work. Even though his teachers had told him to take his time, Kurt wasn't the type who would dilly dally.

The work needed to get done and it needed to get done now.

So he left the Brooklyn Library as he slowly began to make his way back home. The library was only a fifteen minute walk, which wouldn't be much of a problem. However, it was beginning to get dark outside on account of daylight savings. Kurt forgot all about falling back and hour so he was slowly beginning to regret being out this late.

Knowing the bus schedule, Kurt was well aware that he'd have to wait over twenty minutes for the next bus to show. He noticed that enough people were walking about on the streets still since it wasn't that late. Kurt decided that he'd just take his chances as he went off in the direction of his house.

If only he knew just how big of a mistake that was.

Kurt was just begging to be a victim in a horrible, mugging movie. He looked burnt out from his schoolwork and his backpack weighed him quite a bit, making him appear all the more vulnerable. It didn't exactly help just how sharply dressed Kurt was, in the name-brand clothing he wore, even if he did get them at a discounted price since he was such a smart, fabulous shopper. This mixed with the very frame of his body did not bode well for the young teen as he walked alone and unprotected on the road.

This very vulnerability was what made the young Hummel a target for trouble. Four, young men walked passed Kurt with one of them taking a long glance at the boy. Kurt didn't pay them any unnecessary attention other then nodding as he passed them. The one watching Kurt took a quick, examining glance at him then shot a signal to his buddies to double back.

Originally, Kurt tried to ignore the four of them as he heard footsteps beginning to draw closer. He didn't want to think that this was something bad. Kurt wanted to lie to himself that these guys just had to go the same way as him. They must've forgotten something from where they came from. It was logical and possible, but knowing how things worked in the city that it was fairly unlikely.

And so the footsteps drew closer by the second. It got to the point where the hair on the back of Kurt's head began to stand on end as he felt them coming. He tried not to look too suspicious as he prepared to break into a sprint. He quickly began to speed up his walking into a slight jog, which is when he heard the guys' steps getting louder and faster as they tried to catch up.

There was no point in stalling any longer so Kurt just completely broke out into a run. He ran as quickly as he could with his feet carrying him from these guys. But it was a futile attempt to escape. The guys were much faster then Kurt was and was able to catch up to him in less than a minute.

Knowing how this could end, Kurt tried to let out a scream, but was stopped as they finally caught him. One of the guys latched onto Kurt and pulled him back with one hand covering his mouth. Kurt's scream was muffled behind the hand as he was dragged into an alleyway with the four guys laughing at him.

"Look at this little bitch that we caught, guys," said one of the thugs. "Ain't he a pretty one."

"He must be a fag," laughed another.

"We'd better hurry," said another one. "Who knows if that Justice freak might show. Let's just take what he's got and run."

"Yeah, yeah," said the one holding onto Kurt. "But I want to have a little fun first"

Kurt continued to scream as the one hanging onto him pushed him against the wall. His eyes lit up when he saw a knife in the young man's hand, which he raised up so the teen could see it. The sweet freedom he had received by getting Dave away from him was about to be ended by the knife of some lunatic.

How cruel life could be sometimes.

Kurt couldn't understand why Fate was being this horrible to him as he tried to wiggle away. This couldn't be how his life would end, not after what he had survived through. He might not have been a devote believer in God, but the teen was praying for some form of salvation at this moment.

"I'd drop that if I were you."

The thugs and Kurt looked around to see just who had said that. The deep voice was frightening, not to mention the raw power behind it. Kurt's eyes were filled with tears as he recognized that heavenly voice from the night where Dave had tried to kill him.

One of the guys let out an anguished cry as he buckled down to his knees, while he cradled his arm. It was the one who had warned them to hurry up. He was put out of the misery after being knocked in the head. His fallen presence revealed a hero clad in leather with his face covered behind a hood and a mask for his eyes.

"You really should've listened to your friend," said Justice. "Now, I really have to kick your asses."

The one holding the knife took the lead with his buddies following behind him. He swung the knife in attempt to cut Justice's chest, which made Kurt's heart sink as he leaned further back against the wall. The movement was so quick and Kurt expected to see the hero's blood, but that didn't happen.

Instead, Justice caught the thug's arm in way that looked like he hadn't moved at all. If Kurt couldn't see that arm currently in Justice's hold then he wouldn't have believed it.

Then end result, the knife-wielding man now had a broken arm after Justice snapped it. Justice then rotated his body around to kick the thug in the chest, knocking him away from the remainder of his buddies.

The other two were blinded by fear as they looked at their fallen companions. They then turned to Justice with that fear being replaced by boiling anger. They attempted to rush Justice, which was a really bad idea for them to do.

Justice could only let out a light laugh as he leaped up into the air, avoiding the incoming attack. He returned behind them and as soon as they turned back around they were rewarded with a face full of fist. Justice had lifted his arms up and knocked his knuckles into their faces. The hero then grabbed one, which he kneed in the gut before elbowing the other in the ribs.

All four of the muggers had been taken out in a matter of seconds, which Kurt found to be simply amazing. Well, at least he would've thought so if he hadn't begun to freak out at that point. It wasn't so much the brutality of the performance that scared him, it was remembering just how extreme it had been when Justice found Dave.

There had been so much blood…it made him gag as he remembered it.

Justice pushed through the beaten bodies as he stepped towards Kurt. He held out a hand to the young man that was waiting to be taken. It took a moment for Kurt to hold back the terror he felt as he accepted the hand before finding himself being taken up into the air. This strange sensation didn't last long because they were soon on the sidewalk where they were far away enough from those muggers.

It was a relief for Justice that he had made it on time. He had been busy saving an elderly couple from a mugger when he got the vision of Kurt being in trouble. "You're safe again," said Justice. "I'm amazed by how trouble seems to follow you around."

"You remember me?" Kurt asked, softly.

Justice nodded his head as he gave Kurt a little more space. This allowed Kurt to reclaim his composure as he took gentle breaths. "Of course," said Justice. "There's no way that I could forget such a pretty face."

Kurt began to blush, while Justice felt a little embarrassed as he remembered Mika. Justice would've retracted it, but there was no point in doing that now as Kurt could only laugh a little as those fears melted away.

"A gay superhero," said Kurt, "that's very original, actually. You know, my best friend, Sam, would be freaking out right now if he knew you saved my life again. He's really into the whole superhero thing."

If only Kurt knew just how far into it he was.

"Well, hopefully I won't have to go saving his life," said Justice. "I would much rather be out of a job then continuing to rescue people every night."

"That would be the ideal world," Kurt said, softly. He looked up to Justice now with a smile graciously taking form on his face. Through the superpowers and the berserk anger, Kurt could see so much goodness radiating from behind the mask. He couldn't spot the familiarity behind it, but it was so warm and welcoming that it made his heart melt. "Thank you, Justice. I didn't get to say thank you when you saved me last time, and now you saved me again. I really do owe you my life."

Justice had to play it cool as he did not want to risk blowing his cover. If he let too much of Sam out then Kurt would easily spot it and that would be a bad thing. "Don't mention it," Justice said. "I'm happy to help out those who are in need." He slung his arms over his shoulders, locking his hands together with a smile on his face as he closed his eyes.

Something unexpected happened, however, out of all this. Kurt had walked up to Justice with his hands touching the hero's chest before standing on the tip of his toes to kiss him on the lips. It was completely unplanned and not what either one had in mind, but it happened. And neither one did anything to stop it as their lips met for the longest moment of their lives.

Kurt smelt a familiar scent that was mixed with a musky cologne, fresh soap, and iris flowers. It was all just so wonderful, making Kurt's knees weak as he finally pulled his lips away from the hero.

For Justice, his mind had went completely blank as a result of this. He was in complete awe of having shared a kiss with his true love, the amazing Kurt Hummel. The fireworks that went off in his head were mutually shared by the young Hummel, but the older teen would not admit such an attraction to a superhero.

It was too cliché.

But that didn't stop Justice from picturing Kurt being the Lois Lane to his Superman. That also caused guilt to settle in as he thought about Mika, which led to these feelings being further suppressed. For Kurt, they had to go ignored all together as there was no way he'd allow himself to fall in love for a superhero. Besides, it was much too soon for him to fall into love's trap, considering everything that had happened recently.

"Thank you, Justice," Kurt whispered as he stepped back. "I owe you my life. Goodbye now."

"Goodbye," Justice said, breathlessly. "I'll be watching, making sure you get home safe."

Kurt blushed like a fool as he resumed his walk home, feeling protected as Justice kept that promise.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

After his big hero moment and the kiss of a lifetime, one would assume that Sam would be doing everything in his power to stay away from Kurt. Well, he wasn't exactly doing that, especially now that everything with Dave had been starting to blow over. But all those feelings that Sam had for Kurt just couldn't be ignored, they required some action to be done.

However, Sam also understood that he had feelings for Mika too. He couldn't just lead the boy along like he was his plaything. It was cruel and inhumane. Besides, it would be wrong to just jump on Kurt considering everything that happened. Sam would allow things with Mika to continue to run its course, especially since he knew that Mika's father was potentially a criminal kingpin.

That was probably the dominate reason to stay with Mika. Sam didn't want to end up sleeping with the fishes or waking up with a horse's head in his bed.

But there was something special that Sam had in mind for Kurt, which is why he enlisted the help of his fellow gleeks. He focused mainly on the guys to help him with this one, while relying on the girls to get Kurt into the auditorium.

As soon as Kurt showed up, the stage lights were lit to show Sam at center stage with the other guys serving as his band. Finn was at the drums, Puck and Artie were on guitar, Mike was on the bass, and Mika had the keyboards. Kurt was completely confused as the ladies of glee club took him to the front row.

"This one is for you, Kurt," said Sam. "I dragged Finn and the others along so we can show you how much we care. We're doing this performance special for, after everything that's happened." He turned to his band, raising an arm up into the air. "Alright guys, let's hit."

Without any more hesitation, the music began to play as Puck and Artie hit them hard with the guitars as Finn backed them on the drums. Mike and Mika started to play soon after that, which gave Sam his cue to let out with the vocals as this was his song that was dedicated to Kurt.

"Hey, girl, you know you drive me crazy. One look puts the rhythm in my hand. Still I'll never understand why you hang around. I see what's going down."

"Cover up with makeup in the mirror, tell yourself, it's never gonna happen again. You cry alone and then he swears he loves you."

"Do you feel like a man when you push her around? Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground? Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found."

"A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect. Every action in this world will bear a consequence. If you wade around forever, you will surely drown. I see what's going down."

"I see the way you go and say you're right again, say you're right again. Heed my lecture."

"Do you feel like a man when you push her around? Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground? Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found."

"Face down in the dirt, she said, 'This doesn't hurt', she said, 'I finally had enough'. Face down in the dirt, she said, 'This doesn't hurt', she said, 'I finally had enough'."

"One day she will tell you that she has had enough. It's coming round again."

"Do you feel like a man when you push her around? Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground? Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found."

Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found."

"Face down in the dirt, she said, 'This doesn't hurt', she said, 'I finally had enough'. Face down in the dirt, she said, 'This doesn't hurt', she said, 'I finally had enough'."

And then there was nothing but silence as the song came to a close. Everyone was waiting for Kurt to say or do anything, but it didn't come, not for a while.

When it did, Kurt was practically balling as he started to thank everyone, especially Sam. At that point, the girls were all over Kurt, while the guys who were led by Sam began to swarm out from the stage as well. They were all locked into a massive pile, embracing Kurt, letting him now just how much they cared about him.

Now, after all the pain he went through, Kurt was certain of just how much people cared about him and how wonderful all of his friends really were.

* * *

><p>END!<p>

Gasp, Mika's father is a criminal kingpin? And Kai is foreseeing big troubles in the near future that he may or may not be alive to see. And bigger gasp, Kurt kissed Justice (Sam)! If only, if only.

The next chapter will get very heavy as Regionals come and the first villain shows up to challenge Justice. But instead of ending Justice, its one of the members of New Directions who will pay a price.


	8. Not a Hero

**Author's Note:** So the motherboard to my laptop died and I have to get a new laptop. Updates might be a little troubling to get through since I have to share the family computer. Forgive me in advance. Also, does anyone have song ideas for Nationals? I would like some advice. That's all I got to say. Read and review. **  
><strong>

**Not a Hero:**

(Sam)

In the months that passed, drama came and went as well as Sam's battles against the criminals of New York. Everything seemed to be going swimmingly between his home life, his social life, his school life, and his hero life. Sam had finally completely adjusted to all of the changes and was now excelling in every direction that he went.

Since the first semester of school was over, Sam was finally granted eligibility to sign up for the football team. He was quickly drafted into the team and was able to fully participate now that he was no longer considered "injured". Not that he hasn't been injured since the accident, but the doctors wouldn't sign off on it until now. So it was a long time coming, but Sam was happy to at least getting involved in sports again yet he had to learn to seriously contain his superhuman powers.

There were plenty of changes amongst other things. Ever since the awkward moment between him and Kurt, well, Justice and Kurt, the kiss had been on Sam's mind a lot. He was able to control himself most of the time, but there were times that his mind would wander to that night where he got to kiss Kurt. It was totally cliché, but Sam felt like he was in Paradise during those moments.

However, Sam always managed to keep those memories subsided whenever he was around Mika. The kid deserved a lot better then what Sam could've offered him by thinking about making out with his next door neighbor. It was beginning to ware away at Sam's guilt as he thought about how he was kind of playing Mika on. It wasn't on purpose, Sam was trying his hardest to forget Kurt for Mika, but somethings just couldn't go away that easily.

At least now, in the middle of February, it was a little easier. The cold was an excellent distraction, plus Regionals were about to begin. In fact, they were supposed to find out who their competition was and start on making a set list.

So at glee club, Sam waited with the other members of New Directions with anxious thoughts running around their heads. They couldn't wait until the news was announced by Mr. Schuster. And the fact that it had been five minutes since the club was supposed to start; they were very much bothered by their lack of a teacher.

Kurt was about ready to have a fit, along with Rachel when the door opened up with Mr. Schuster walking in.

"I'm sorry about the wait, guys," said their teacher. "I was having a bit of trouble with Coach Sylvester, but it's passed. Anyways, I have our competition for Regionals. We will be going up against the all-boys' school, Dalton Academy, and the Catholic school, Holy Mother Academy."

"This is so sweet," laughed Santana. "I can get some choir boys to really pray to a holy mother."

"Please, Santana, keep your legs closed," sighed Quinn. "If you keep up with the promiscuity then you'll end up catching something like Puck did."

"Strep throat isn't a STD, Quinn," Puck said, defending himself against these allegations.

Before this could go any further, Mr. Schuster called for everyone's attention. He already had a set list in mind that featured a lot of classic music that half of them either didn't know or really didn't want to sign. Rachel was already protesting, going on about she wanted to sing something more Barbra or Broadway. Mercedes was about to jump her for a lead spot, which meant plenty others would get dragged into the showdown as well.

Kurt had warned Sam about what happened last year, it wasn't one of the club's finer moments. It involved Mercedes throwing a chair, Santana flying across the room at Rachel, and Artie getting dragged away by Brittany. That last part didn't exactly make any sense, but it was one of those things that nobody wanted a repeat of.

Sam quickly interjected before anything dangerous happened. He held his hand up, shooting at Mr. Schuster for some attention. "No offense, Mr. Schu, but the songs you selected won't let us win Regionals," said Sam. "I know for a fact that Dalton will beat us if we use those songs."

"And how did you come to this conclusion, Sam?" Mr. Schuster asked, defending his classics.

"My best friend is the Dalton Warbler's lead vocalist," said Sam. "Blaine will stomp us to the ground because he knows his music. I can guarantee that he has a set list put together that is filled with lots of energy and theatrics. I've seen the Warblers perform too, they all just have way too much energy. We won't win by singing Journey."

"Then what do you suggest?" asked Rachel. "Will we do Broadway?"

Sam shook his head, which Rachel took as a bit of an insult. He bit down on his bottom lip for a moment when there was an eureka in his head. "I think we'll need to really turn up the heat with something spicy," said the southern boy. Everyone raised an eyebrow at him, trying to figure out just where he was going with this. "Latin music! It's full of energy, some songs require a lot of vocal power, and I know that the Warblers won't expect something that hot."

"I love it!" Kurt said, excitedly.

"That actually sounds like a really good idea," added Quinn. "It's something we've never done before."

"Brittany and I know a lot of Latin dances," said Mike. "We could easily put together a routine as soon as we get some songs."

Everyone quickly got behind Sam's idea to the point where Mr. Schuster had to yield to in defeat. Granted, it wasn't so much of the teacher yielding since the thought of performing Latin songs actually seemed like a solid strategy. Depending how well they utilized these songs, they might even be able to use something along those lines for Nationals. The songs and the steps required would push the New Directions to a whole new level of performing.

Mr. Schuster quickly signed off on this idea so now it became a matter of deciding the songs and who got to sing them.

Of course, Rachel was demanding a solo, but she was shot down in defeat. The main reason was because Rachel didn't exactly have the ability to pull of Latin music. She had solid vocals, but her accent and pronunciations needed a lot more work then they had time for.

So the solo was handed over to Santana, their most authentic Latina. She had the look, the energy, and not to mention the vocals to cause plenty of madness.

Puck was originally going to handle the other song, but he declined the minute he found out what song they agreed on. So instead, it was Artie who was selected since he had a strong vocal range and knew his Spanish pretty well.

Mike and Brittany quickly had a few steps in mind that they got to work putting together. Santana called the other girls and Artie got the boys as they split up their performances between the genders. Not that it was a battle of the sexes, but it was more of letting out the wild energy that these songs would inspire.

* * *

><p>(Kai)<p>

New York City was just a hotbed for criminal activity of all shapes and sizes. This was not surprising at all to Kai since he was well aware of the negative possibilities of putting so many people from different views with different personalities in such a cramped environment. The differences would get the best of them, tolerance would shatter, and chaos would quickly ensue.

It was true for any city around the world.

What Kai was more concerned of as he decided to join Sam on patrol were the slowly forming tares in the veil. His Guardian abilities granted him insight into the changes that were slowly beginning to take affect in the city. The atrocities that had already been suffered were suffering from the manipulations of spiritual forces. These forces were vying for control over the city and with so much interference going on at once, the city would crack under the pressure.

From the cracks would come utter devastation. Balance would be severed and New York would fall under anarchy in its most dangerous form. Not even Sam/Justice would be able to do anything to save this city. Even if all the Spirit Warriors and Guardians flocked to this one city, they wouldn't be able to make even a slightest difference.

Like Atlantis, New York would collapse into oblivion. That much, Kai was certain would happen as they began their investigation in the city.

Justice was all dressed up with Kai also wearing his Guardian robes. The elder looked remarkably like a ninja so it made it easy for him to blend into the shadows that blanketed the city. Justice had to use his sharp sense to spot where Guardian was on several occasions.

"Remind me again why you're here?" asked Justice. "Normally when I got out on patrol, you stay away. Why the sudden change of heart, Kai?"

"It is time for me to get better familiar with the city," said Guardian. "I have yet to fully embrace my new surroundings. I've stayed out of the picture simply because the spirits have been at rest here, but that peace will not last for much longer."

"Great," said Justice. "Then what will I be up against? Will it still be purse snatchers, thugs, gang-bangers, rapists, and murderers?"

"Worse," Guardian said, walking beside his companion. They paused at the edge of the rooftop just as something was about to happen. Down on the ground, a woman was about to be mugged by two men. "The things that are coming will want to cause nothing but destruction. They will hold no value for human existence whatsoever. Not even their own survival will matter to them, they simply want to spread chaos."

"So nothing new then," Justice said, springing himself from the building.

Justice flew down to the ground with Guardian watching as the young hero landed on the middle of the street. The muggers caught one look of the hero before running off back where they had came from. But they would not get away so easily. Justice took chase after them and managed to tussle them up a little bit so that they'd really learn their lesson. No bones were broken in this case, but there might be bruising and their butts might be a little sore.

Guardian continued to watch as Justice returned to the woman that he saved, warning her to be a little more careful at night. The woman was grateful as she made haste to her home where she'd be much safer.

The heroes were united again on the rooftop. Justice made no effort to drag Guardian in on the next fight since the spiritual guardian was bounded to only fight spiritual forces. Regular criminals were something that he was not allowed to deal with. That was all in Justice's jurisdiction.

Oh well, that meant more bad guys that he'd get to take out some rage on.

Not that Justice was in a very bad mood, but it was fun to rough up some criminals. Not like these guys deserved much mercy, especially the worst of them. Justice found this crusade to be rather soothing as he pounded a thug's face to the ground.

Guardian saw this and began to wonder about the growing bloodlust of the spirit within Sam. The Spirit of Justice was growing bolder within its human host, which could spell into a disaster if Sam was not cautious. It was fortunate for the teenager that a Guardian was present to help make sure that the line was never crossed.

For the sake of Sam's well-being, Guardian swore to help Sam in anyway that he could for as long as he can.

* * *

><p>(Unknown)<p>

Not even Justice could handle with punishing all the criminals in the city. As Justice dealt with one crime, halfway across the city, another was taking place.

A man robbed a jewelry store, stealing a dozen of the most expensive jewelry that he could get a hold of. It sounded a little cliché, but it was a suitable way for the man to spend his night. He was actually laughing the whole way as he made his escape from the cops that were chasing after him.

The man looked no older than thirty, which seemed to be very accurate. He was rather muscular, he didn't appear cut, however, but did appear to be very strong. It was a valid assumption since he could easily carry things and people twice his weight, which was a staggering two hundred and twenty pounds. His hair was a copper shade of red that oddly enough was his natural color. It shinned wickedly against the moonlight as this olive-skinned, black-eyed man ran to his escape.

Sneaking into an alleyway that the cars wouldn't be able to enter, the criminal would find his escape for the hands of the damn, fat pigs better known as NYPD. The man hated the police with a passion, but that was a story for another day. There were more important things for him to worry about like escaping from the cops before they caught him and sent him to jail.

Then again, he already got out of jail plenty of times before, a forth sentence wouldn't mean much to him.

He climbed up a fence, while the cops had finally caught wind of his escapes. Three officers tried to chase after him in the alley, but the head start that the criminal got made this difficult for them. This didn't stop the officers from trying, however, as they took off with all the speed that they could.

It would all prove to be in vain, however, as the criminal was being watched over by supernatural forces. The very forces that Kai had foreseen arriving was about to make its presence known at this moment. As the cops neared the criminal, the man running away from the cops felt a cold chill in the air. This feeling was downright sickening and it soon caused him to pause from his escape.

Looking back, the criminal saw that the cops were frozen in place. Not like they were covered in ice or anything like that, they just weren't moving. This was downright odd to the criminal, but this was something to exploit. So he started to run again only to run into something that blocked the way.

"What the Hell!" shouted the criminal as he dropped the bag of jewels. He scrambled onto his feet and tried to retrieve the lost items when a shadowy foot stepped in front of his hand. The man gulped as he looked up to see a figure made of pure shadow, but solid as a brick wall, stand right in front of him. "Dear God. What the fuck are you?"

"Your Salvation, Richard," said the man of shadow. "You feel wrong by the justice system of this world? You seek _vengeance, _do you not?"

The man nodded his head as he slowly pulled his nearly stomped hand back. He continued to stare at this entity, unsure at all of just where this was going. "Yeah," said the criminal. "Now, what's it to you? Why do you care about what I feel? How do you plan on offering me salvation?"

"By giving you the power to face Justice," said the man of shadow. "I will give you the power to overcome Justice, you shall wield the Power of Vengeance. Allow hate, malice, rage to flow into your soul. Accept this gift and I shall make you into a god amongst the mortals of this city."

"A god?" said the criminal. There was only the slightest of pauses as the man looked into the red eyes of this shadow creature. It's existence brought chills to him, but the promise of power was like honey to his ears. He quickly became enamored by this prospect as he straightened himself up to face this entity. "Alright, prove to me that you're not bullshitting. Do you what you want, but if I can't do these things then I'm gonna kill you, whatever you are."

"I am something ancient," said the man of shadow. "I was a live long ago back before the beginnings of the European Empires."

"Like I really give a shit," said the man. "History bores the hell out of me. Just give me my power before I kick your ass."

"Control yourself, boy," said the man of shadow. "You don't want to lose yourself in the gift I am about to bestow upon you."

"Just give it to me already!"

The man of shadow began to laugh as it held up one hand. The shadows that made up its body were surging with energy. The hand was placed onto the chest of the criminal, causing a mixture of their beings.

"Vengeance shall be your gift," said the man of shadow. "Vengeance will give you power. You shall be granted the strength to overcome your adversaries. Nothing will be able to stand in your way, not a single soul."

"Yes!" shouted the criminal. "I want the power. I will do anything for the power. Make me invincible, make me a god!"

Time resumed to its normal pace with the man of shadow vanishing from sight. The cops were back to moving just as this merger came to a close. Guns were quickly drawn with the officers hoping to put a stop to this criminal's activities.

A smile formed on the man's face as his eyes began to glow red. Slowly, he turned to face the officers with his hands tingling with electricity. The sparks left his hands, shocking the gun from the hold of the officers. The cops felt shock take over their bodies as fear paralyzed them, making them wonder what this man had become.

No longer a man, but an emissary of Vengeance.

"This is going to be fun," laughed the criminal. He held up one hand, releasing the electricity that had been building up. Three surges came forth and struck the officers in all of its intensity. Their suffering hadn't last long, however, as the officers were killed in a single moment.

The bodies of the cops dropped to the ground with this corrupted man feeling no remorse at all for their deaths. It was a level that the man would've never reached under normal circumstances, but this power had already warped his mind in a matter of minutes. What little bit of humanity was in the man before this encounter was all gone. The spiritual force that inhabited his body was in complete control now as it had a worthy vessel of its own to manipulate.

Chaos would spread and vengeance would belong to it.

The dead cops were only the beginning of a long struggle.

"Too long have I waited," whispered the spirit in control. "For too long I have suffered from cruelty. Now, I have my chance to claim vengeance on what was so wrongly stolen from me."

Stepping over the electrocuted corpses, the man disappeared into shadows, leaving the jewels behind in the process.

* * *

><p>(Blaine)<p>

On the day of Regionals, the competing show choir teams flocked to the concert hall that they would be performing at. The New Directions were extremely nervous, while their main competition, the Warblers, felt that they would dominate the stage. Blaine was the leader of his cocky teammates as he walked around with a fairly smug smile on his face.

However, being raised proper, Blaine was utterly polite and wished all the competing teams luck. Blaine was sincere about it all, especially when he found Sam hanging around with Mika backstage.

"Well, Sammy, I'm guessing that this is the lovely Mika," Blaine said, smiling at his protégé. He leaned close to the younger boy, taking the hand of this blushing boy. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mika. I'm Blaine Anderson."

"I know who you are," Mika said, continuing to blush. "It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Blaine."

"Yes, well, I hope the bad business between our fathers won't keep us from being friends," said Blaine. "Sam is such a great friend, it would suck bad to have to make him choose between either one of us. Granted, I know I'd win in the end, but it wouldn't be fair to make any of us suffer. So, when the Warblers win Regionals, you guys are invited to our victory party."

"Blaine," Sam said, interrupting him, "you're acting like a cocky prick. Pull the stick out of your ass and go back to normal."

"This is normal for me, Sam," said Blaine. "I take my competitions very seriously. Anyways, I'd better get going. The Warblers are up next. Watch carefully because we're going to make you issue a flag of surrender."

As annoying as Blaine was being, Sam decided to let this one slide. Competition could bring the worst out of people and it seemed to be rearing out Blaine's ugly side.

Mika seemed to take notice of this annoying behavior as he drew closer to Sam. The two shrugged off the encounter as they joined up with the other members of New Directions. As they took off, the Warblers began to assemble on the stage where they'd start the opening number.

It all began with a few of the Warblers dancing around the stage. The blazer-wearing, young men were full of pep and charisma as they danced their way to the hearts of the audience and judges.

Blaine jumped to center stage and set the music off with the rest of the Warblers.

"He's a cold-hearted snake, look into his eyes. Oh ohhh, he's been tellin' lies. He's a lover boy at play. He don't play by rules. Oh oh, girl don't play the fool. No!"

Now, it was up to Blaine to set the focus onto himself. The mood was set so now he just needed to stun the audience and the judges with his vocals. "You're the one givin' up the love, anytime he needs it. But you turn your back and then he's off and runnin' with the crowd. You're the one to sacrifice anything to please him. Do you really think he thinks about you when he's out?"

The Warblers all joined in with their highly choreographed routine, which set the audience ablaze. "He's a cold-hearted snake, look into his eyes. Oh ohhh, he's been tellin' lies. He's a lover boy at play. He don't play by rules. Oh oh, girl don't play the fool. No!"

"It was only late last night, he was out there sneakin'. Then he called you up to check that you were waiting by the phone. All the world's a candy store. He's been trick or treatin'. When it comes to true love girl with him there's no one home."

"He's a cold-hearted snake, look into his eyes. Oh ohhh, he's been tellin' lies. He's a lover boy at play. He don't play by rules. Oh oh, girl don't play the fool. No!"

One of the other Warblers jumped into the center, pushing away his fellow teammates. He began to go off on a rap, letting the rhythm flow through him as he commanded attention.

"How come how come he can he can tell-a tell-a you're-a you're-a. Always always number number one without a doubt. He's he's one one cold cold snake snake. When-a when-a he is he is always always squirmin' squirmin'. Like a little snake under-a e-ver-y-a rock. No no give give, all all take take. You've been you've been workin' workin' on the on the love. And he's been only only playing undercover all the while. One one smooth smooth sharp sharp tongue tongue. Take a take another 'nother look into his eyes. He he just just talks. And you will only see a reptile."

Blaine returned to the spotlight as he pointed to a lucky girl in the audience. "You could find somebody better girl. He could only make you cry. You deserve somebody better girl. He's c-cold as ice."

"He's a cold-hearted snake, look into his eyes. Oh ohhh, he's been tellin' lies. He's a lover boy at play. He don't play by rules. Oh oh, girl don't play the fool. No!"

"He's a cold-hearted snake, look into his eyes. Oh ohhh, he's been tellin' lies. He's a lover boy at play. He don't play by rules. Oh oh, girl don't play the fool. No!"

Applause welcomed the Warblers, but the show was far from over.

Once again, Blaine commanded the attention of the audience. He set off their next and final song of the day. "Oh yeah! Oh yeah. So scared of breaking it but you won't let it bend. And I wrote two hundred letters I will never send. Sometimes these cuts are so much deeper than they seem. You'd rather cover up, I'd rather let them bleed. So let me be and I'll set you free."

"I am in misery. There ain't nobody who can comfort me, oh yeah. Why won't you answer me? The silence is slowly killing me. Girl, you really got me bad. You really got me bad. I'm gonna get you back. Gonna get you back."

"Your salty skin and how it mixes in with mine. The way it feels to be completely intertwined. Not that I didn't care, it's that I didn't know. It's not what I didn't feel, it's what I didn't show. So let me be and I'll set you free."

"I am in misery. There ain't nobody who can comfort me, oh yeah. Why won't you answer me? The silence is slowly killing me."

"Girl you really got me bad. You really got me bad. I'm gonna get you back. I'm gonna get you back."

"Say your faith is shaken. You may be mistaken. You keep me wide awake and waiting for the sun. I'm desperate and confused. So far away from you. I'm getting there. I don't care where I have to go."

"Why do you do what you do to me, yeah. Why won't you answer me, answer me, yeah. Why do you do what you do to me, yeah. Why won't you answer me, answer me, yeah."

"I am in misery. There ain't nobody who can comfort me, oh yeah. Why won't you answer me? The silence is slowly killing me, oh yeah!"

"Girl you really got me bad. You really got me bad. I'm gonna get you back. Gonna get you back. Girl you really got me bad. You really got me bad. I'm gonna get you back. Gonna get you back. Girl you really got me bad. You really got me bad. I'm gonna get you back. Gonna get you back."

The audience erupted into a furious amount of applause for the incredible performance that the Warblers gave. The boys bowed before the crowd before taking off from the stage, clearing the space for their competition to come perform.

Blaine and the other Warblers were certain of their victory over the other show choir clubs.

Only time would tell if this would be true or not.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

The New Directions got ready for their performance, dressing up for the trap they were about to spring. The girls got into fiery, red dressed with Santana's being decorated with extra bedding as she would be the lady at the center of attention. As for the guys, they stuck with the usual shirt and tie, but Artie had a red tie to help him stand out from the others.

While the guys waited in the wings, the ladies of the New Directions led the charge as they jumped to the stage.

Santana immediately let loose with the vocals as the trumpets and drums set off the beat. "Pomp it up! Do it! Do it!" She was quickly joined by the other girls who began to dance around her, singing her the backup that she needed for the ladies' number. "Cause I'ma live my life. Eso. 'Cause I'ma live my life. 'Cause I'ma live my life. Do it! Pomp it up. Do it! Do it!"

"Come on people let's get loud, let's get loud. Turn the music up to hear that sound. Let's get loud, let's get loud. Ain't nobody gotta tell you what you gotta do."

That said, the guys showed up on stage, providing their dancing talents to the performance. Well, everyone helped with that except for Finn. His two left feet were a bit of a danger so he stayed a little further back then the others. He would only really be used when they needed to life, carry, or flip the girls.

"If you wanna live your life, live it all the way and don't you waste it. Every feeling, every beat can be so very sweet you gotta taste it."

"You gotta do it, you gotta do it. You gotta do it your way. You gotta prove it, you gotta prove it. You gotta mean what you say. Come on, you know what we're here for! You gotta do it, do it. You gotta do it your way. You gotta prove it, prove it. You gotta mean what you say."

Santana started to shake her hips around like crazy as she stood between Mike and Sam, grabbing onto the muscular boys. "Life's a party, make it hot. Dance, don't ever stop whatever rhythm. Every minute, every day, take them all the away, you gotta live them. 'Cause I'ma live my life."

"You gotta do it, you gotta do it. You gotta do it your way. You gotta prove it, you gotta prove it. You gotta mean what you say. Come on, you know what we're here for! You gotta do it, do it. You gotta do it your way. You gotta prove it, prove it. You gotta mean what you say."

"Let's get loud, let's get loud. Turn the music up to hear that sound. Let's get loud, let's get loud. Ain't nobody gotta tell you what you gotta do."

As the music slowly began to calm down, Santana and the other girls began to fan themselves off as the guys danced a little suggestively. The boys of New Directions moved their hips and the rest of their bodies, showing off their sexier side. "Ay papi, let's get down. Let's get down, let's get down. It's just a party baby come on. Let's get loud, let's get loud. Let's get loud, pomp it up."

"Hey, hey. Hey! Eso. Hey, hey, hey! Pomp it up! Do it!"

"Life is meant to be, be funny. You're not hurting anyone, nobody loses. Let the music make you free. Be what you wanna be. Make no excuses."

"You gotta do it, do what you wanna do. You gotta do it your way. You gotta prove it, say what you wanna say. You gotta mean what you say. You gotta do it, go where you wanna go. You gotta do it your way. You gotta prove it, just do it oh. You gotta mean what you say."

"Let's get loud, let's get loud. Turn the music up to hear that sound. Let's get loud, let's get loud. Ain't nobody gotta tell you what you gotta do."

"Let's get loud, let's get loud. Turn the music up to hear that sound. Let's get loud, let's get loud. Ain't nobody gotta tell you what you gotta do"

Santana started to clap above her head, while the everyone else formed a dance circle. They let the rhythm take control with the audience going wild at this point. "Eso! Asi, asi es que me gusta, tu sabes."

"Let's get loud! Let's get loud! Let's get LOUD!"

"Let's get loud, let's get loud. Turn the music up to hear that sound. Let's get loud, let's get loud. Ain't nobody gotta tell you what you gotta do."

The drums slammed down, but the show was far from over.

Everyone continued to dance, but at a slightly slower pace for a minute. Then when the music suddenly picked up for everyone, it became wild once more as Artie let his vocals loose.

Artie was at the center now, taking in his chance to shine in front of everyone. "She's into superstitions black cats and voodoo dolls. I feel a premonition that girl's gonna make me fall." Artie had Santana, Brittany, and Nicky at his side with the girls dancing wildly around him. The other guys had their partners ready to go as the guys were ready to backup with the vocals. "She's into new sensations new kicks in the candle light. She's got a new addiction for every day and night."

The guys all let it rip as they untucked their shirts, while the girls kicked their dressed above the knees. "She'll make you take your clothes off and go dancing in the rain. She'll make you live her crazy life but she'll take away your pain like a bullet to your brain. Come On!"

"Upside, inside out she's livin la vida loca. She'll push and pull you down, livin la vida loca. Her lips are devil red and her skin's the color mocha. She will wear you out livin la vida loca. Come On! Livin la vida loca. Come on! She's livin la vida loca."

Rachel and Tina nudged Artie to the ground who pretended to be a little drowsy for this next verse. "Woke up in New York City in a funky cheap hotel. She took my heart and she took my money. She must've slipped me a sleeping pill. She never drinks the water and makes you order French Champagne. Once you've had a taste of her you'll never be the same. Yeah, she'll make you go insane."

The guys lifted their partners up into the air before bringing them back down for a gentle landing. Both the guys and the girls pushed and pulled each other around for the song. "Upside, inside out she's livin la vida loca. She'll push and pull you down, livin la vida loca. Her lips are devil red and her skin's the color mocha. She will wear you out livin la vida loca. Come On! Livin la vida loca. Come on! She's livin la vida loca."

"She'll make you take your clothes off and go dancing in the rain. She'll make you live her crazy life but she'll take away your pain like a bullet to your brain. Come On!"

"Upside, inside out she's livin la vida loca. She'll push and pull you down, livin la vida loca. Her lips are devil red and her skin's the color mocha. She will wear you out livin la vida loca. Come On! Livin la vida loca. Come on! She's livin la vida loca."

"Upside, inside out she's livin la vida loca. She'll push and pull you down, livin la vida loca. Her lips are devil red and her skin's the color mocha. She will wear you out livin la vida loca. Come On! Livin la vida loca. Come on! She's livin la vida loca."

"Gotta, gotta la vida loca. Gotta, gotta la vida loca. Livin la vida loca!"

The fever came to an end as the members of New Directions were left panting in exhaustion from this killer performance. All these Latin numbers and steps really put the pressure on them, but they hoped it would be worth it.

The New Directions' Latin performance was a major hit with the audience. The entire crowd was standing up in applause, clapping as hard as they could for the New Directions. The high school students felt utterly excited as they cleared the stage to await the judges' results.

And when the results came in all three schools waited to hear the news on stage.

It was a unanimous decision in the end, the New Directions were going to Nationals!

* * *

><p>There was a party going on at a local pizza parlor that was a popular spot for the students of the Academy of the City to hangout at. This was also where the New Directions were celebrating their triumphant victory at Regionals. There was plenty of good vibes being spread about as the students ate, danced, and be acted very merry.<p>

Santana and Artie were being showered with praise as those two were the big heroes of the day. They had led the club to victory. They earned everything that they could get today as the club allowed themselves to enjoy today.

When Monday came, it meant that the club would have to buckle down and focus because Nationals were on their way. If they could dominate Nationals like they did Sectionals and Regionals then they stood a chance at breaking into the top ten.

And that was the ultimate goal.

Sam had a lot of fun as he hung out with his fellow gleeks. They celebrated and ate way more pizza then they probably should've, especially Sam since he did have some strict diet rules going on. He needed to be in super great shape for football, but then again, fighting crime did burn a lot of calories. So with that in mind, Sam graciously took another slice of pizza from the pan before Puck fought him for it.

"Next stop Nationals!" Mercedes cheered, raising up her class.

"Woo!" shouted the other members of New Directions.

They clinked their glasses together in order to promote their celebration. The gleeks continued to attack what was left of the pizza, while going off on one another with friendly insults.

This when on for about another hour until Sam decided it was time to take off. It was almost eight and he needed to get ready for patrolling. Blaine was already set up as his alibi so Sam would be in the clear.

Sam grabbed his bags and said his farewell to everybody. He didn't have to worry about Mika or Kurt since their ride situation was taken well care of. Knowing that his boyfriend and best friend would be fine, Sam was able to take off with a clear conscious.

But when Sam was making his way towards the bus stop, a cosmic slap across the face hit him hard. Sam had to grab onto a nearby wall to stop him from hurling as the images completely blinded him. Unlike his usual visions, they weren't a clear and direct like they normally were. This time, Sam could only see rapid blurs that only focused in on one man that weaved electricity in his hands. And there was screaming, so much screaming as blood would run deep.

It would all happen at the pizza parlor too where the rest of his friends were in. Sam quickly disappeared into an alleyway then jumped to the rooftop of the nearest building. He dropped his bags before opening the one that contained his Justice uniform. Despite the cold snow that fell around him, Sam stripped down to his underwear before putting on the uniform. Cold wasn't so much an issue to him right now since his top priority was to save his friends before it was too late.

When he covered his face with mask and hood, Justice felt a chill run down his spine. The rooftop began to shake for a moment and what sounded like an explosion had gone off. Fearing that it was too late, Justice ran back to het parlor, praying that he wasn't too late to prevent innocent lives from being taken.

Bolts of electricity began to surge up into the air, nearly striking Justice down from the sky in the process. The young hero landed on the ground to see that the wall of the pizza parlor had been torn apart. This was, quite possibly, done by the electricity that was sizzling around all over the place.

Hysteria filled the streets as people flocked away from harm. Those who had been injured from the parlor attack were helped by those who made it out without much injury. Justice spotted that most of the members of his glee club were relatively unharmed. If anything, they were more in shock from the attack then suffering from any physical injury.

Thank God for small favors.

Justice was on the ground, looking around for the source of this attack. His eyes finally crossed to one man who was sizzling with electricity as he emerged from the fallen debris. A cross smile formed on the man's face as the electricity wound it way around his arm, while he had his eyes focused on the young hero.

"What are you?" said Justice. "Are you the one responsible for this attack?"

"Very much so," said the mysterious man. "Now, you're Justice. It is the boy behind the mask that I should be thanking."

"Thanking for what?" asked Justice.

The smile on the man's face was menacing as he briefly went silent. The electricity began to sparkle now at the tips of his fingers as he worked on containing himself. "I cannot tell you," said this man. "My secrets belong to only me, it is none of your concern. Besides, you won't live after today."

Justice felt his blood boil at this point. Whatever this super powered freak was supposed to be, it couldn't be anything good at all. If he so openly attacked all of these then it was up to Justice to put him down. This man needed to be stopped and only Justice had the power to do so.

Not wasting a second more, Justice took off after this man. The young hero raced across the road and swung his fist to deliver a rapid punch on to this electrifying foe. But Justice was preventing from attacking as a shock of electricity pushed him aside. It felt horribly painful for the young man when the electricity coursed throughout his entire being, making him wither about on the ground.

It felt like his insides were being ripped out by the electricity. Justice wanted to vomit the pain away, but his gag reflex only seemed to be adding to the pain.

The man laughed as he started to make his way over towards the young hero. It was far too easy to beat this boy. The entity within the man was rather disappointed by this as he had really been hoping to have a challenge with young Sammy.

Oh well, better to kill him now before it was too late.

Electricity gathered into his hand once more as the man prepared to strike. He held up the hand that would put an end to Justice with laughter escaping his throat.

But before the man could strike, Justice had fought through the pain as his body rapidly began to heal itself. He swung his body around and used his leg to knock the villain off of his feet. The electrifying man's attack sprang up into the air where it was lost in the atmosphere as his back landed on the ground.

Justice got back up on his feet with remarkable grace, feeling back in the game. He pulled the man up from the ground and threw him against a lamppost with hopes of putting an end to him. The man was stronger then Justice had expected, however, as that attack only served to make him laugh.

"You're a lot more fun then I expected you'd be," said the nameless villain. "Oh, Justice, I'll have fun making your life hell."

Justice grabbed the man by the shoulders, pressing him further back against the cold lamppost. The heroic anger boiled up inside of him as he stared the man in the eyes. "Who are you?" said Justice. "I demand you to answer me."

"I am the opposite of you," laughed the villain. "I will have vengeance, you shall suffer as I had suffered in the past."

Electricity coiled around the free hand of the villain. Justice pushed the man aside, expecting to get shocked, but the pain never came. The hero made eye contact with his foe only to see the man as he pointed his electrifying hand at an innocent bystander.

His stomach dropped when he saw who the villain took aim at. It was Artie that was the target of this villain. The electricity took a fairly solid shape, almost like a bullet. The man pulled this trigger, sending out the shot of electricity at Artie until it struck the teen in the back.

A horrifying cry escaped Artie as he dropped to the ground, unmoving.

Nicky screamed Artie's name as she ran to his side in the middle of all the chaos. She dropped to her knees, crying over him, while other members of New Directions were being pushed away by the panicking crowd.

Justice felt tears escaping from his eyes when he heard something strike the ground next to him. He looked to see one of Guardian's sai at his side, which was a surprise to him. Justice turned his head to see Guardian on top of one of the buildings with the Oriental man nodding his head.

The young hero pulled the sai from the ground and while the villain had his back turned the boy made his move. Justice plunged the sai into the back of the electrifying criminal without any hesitation. This was originally intended, but Justice did it and it felt like the right thing to do.

The man had a gasp for breath as light flashed from his skin. A shadowy mist escaped from his mouth, floating away into the sky, while the man dropped to the ground. His body became cold from the stabbing as Justice had pulled the sai out from deceased body and dropped it to the ground.

Justice turned his attention to where the others had gathered around Artie, ignoring all the damage, as he looked solely at Artie's still form. "I'm no hero," Justice said, walking away from the scene. He jumped on top of the building that Kai stood at where he ripped off his mask and threw it on the ground.

Kai knew exactly what happened to Sam; his warrior spirit was broken and it would be impossible to bring it back.

* * *

><p>END!<p>

I forgot to mention the song title for the last chapter. "Face Down" by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

This chapter's songs were "Cold Hearted" by Paula Abdul, "Misery" by Maroon 5, "Let's Get Loud" by Jennifer Lopez, and "Livin la Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin.


	9. Live with No Regret

**Author's Note: **Sure this chapter is shorter then the last couple, but for good reason. I'm going to be extra nice and put up another chapter later this week! So you should be very excited. Anyways, that's all I really have to say. Read and review.

**Live with No Regrets:**

(Sam)

There was nothing but silence in the darkened bedroom as Sam laid flat on his bed. It had been a week since Regionals, since the event happened. Still, Sam felt horrible as he turned to his back and stared at the ceiling where the fan was spinning slowly to keep the air flowing.

All because of him, Artie was nearly killed. Artie was in the hospital, recovering from the shot that nearly ended his life. Sam and the other members of New Directions were kept in the dark about if anything was wrong; they barely found out that he regained consciousness last night. That was the one bright side to that nightmare of a day that truly proved how much of a child that Sam was being.

How stupid he was going out there to play hero. Sam should've known better, he was far more rational then this. Sam was no hero, he was just a kid. There was nothing about him that was extraordinary before the accident. Why the hell a Spirit of Justice was stupid enough to bond with his soul was beyond his understanding.

"Must be a stupid spirit," Sam said, softly.

Sam stayed in the silence of his bedroom, ignoring the world around him. He didn't bother to check the time since he already knew that it was midnight. His internal clock was still used to his crime-fighting schedule that now rested in shattered pieces of broken nothingness.

It wasn't right for Sam to continue playing hero. Not when poor Artie was the one who had to pay all of the consequences. That wicked spirit chose Artie over the hero because it would have a lasting impression. And the impression was that Sam had no power over anything. Lives were beyond his saving and that meant that Sam could never be a true hero so he might as well just retire young.

At least he could say that he had a good run out of it. He had a few months of playing superhero, saving the city from criminals. Too bad that he was way out of his league when it came to fighting spiritual entities that had way too many secrets.

There were actually a few questions running around Sam's head, but that was mostly kept to himself. Not like he was going to go out there to find him some answers. Sam wanted nothing more to do with being a superhero. As far as he was concerned, he was just a regular, gay teen living in New York City. There was nothing at all special about this southern boy so that was that.

"School, football, glee club," whispered Sam, "that's it. I have nothing else to worry about in my life. Just family and friends. No more running around in that ridiculous outfit, trying to play hero."

Looking at his closet, Sam knew that his uniform lurked in the depths. He had no interest at all at looking at it so it was buried underneath a pile of clothes. First chance that he got, Sam would hand it over to Blaine to be disposed of. It wouldn't be right to just throw Blaine's investment in the garbage without notice.

Sam placed a hand over his chest, feeling his heart hammering against him. It had been like this for a few days now. There was so much pain in the boy's chest that came from the battle. The pain of getting shot with electricity was part of the problem, but Sam thought it had more to do with his broken will. His motivation to fight, to be strong, was busy drowning in sorrow.

His sense of justice was like a drunk, drinking away his paycheck on cheap booze.

"Whiskey sounds good," said Sam. "I bet Uncle Sam has some in the liquor cabinet. I could sure go for a drink."

Even with his throat feeling a little parched, the teen was completely unwilling to move from bed. He stayed underneath his covers with his body hidden as he closed his eyes and fell to a dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>(Kai)<p>

There was a long wait, but the man was more then willing to play the patient game.

Leaning against a wall, Kai stood not too far from the Academy of the City. He waited for Sam to show up as the Guardian had much to talk to the boy about. He was well aware that Sam's spirit was broken because of what happened last weekend, but that couldn't stop what destiny had planned.

Since their battle, Kai has felt a steady rise in the spiritual activity in New York City. The lines between order and disorder were becoming blurrier by the day. If something wasn't done soon then the entire city would fall into the hands of utter chaos.

But part of Kai knew that Sam wouldn't listen to this talk. It would take a lot more then that to give the broken hero what he needed to revitalize him.

When Sam turned the corner, the teen was blocked off as the Guardian blocked the path. Kai stared into Sam's eyes where he saw a fountain of pain springing forth more like a geyser then anything else.

They stood in silence as the city went about its normal routine, refusing to slow down for the two of them. "I'm sorry about your friend, Sam," said Kai. "But there are things that we must discuss. You can't just stand around on the sidelines anymore. The world needs you to act."

"The world doesn't need me, Kai," Sam said, holding onto the straps of his backpack. The boy looked down to the concrete with his legs almost trembling. He remembered seeing that devastating explosion of electricity that put his friends in great danger. "The world needs a better hero then me. Tell this justice spirit to leave my body and go find someone else to inhabit."

"It cannot do that, Samuel, and you know that," said the Guardian. "If the spirit were to leave your body then you'd die." Those fatal words struck a chord in Sam's brain. Sam looked up to properly face Kai.

There was much that Sam needed to know about his own powers. Kai didn't exactly feel that this was the proper time or place. But he already had the box open so there was no point in trying to stuff Pandora back in there. "The sudden void left behind by the spirit would crush your body," said Kai, "ending the life that it restored. The spirit must leave your body at a gradual process so not to kill you."

Sam turned back to the ground, biting down on his bottom lip. He resumed walking down the sidewalk and bumped his arm against Kai. "Better I was dead then anyone else," said the young man. "If it wasn't for me then Artie would be fine."

"Wait, Sam!" Kai said to the teen. "Come back here. Sam, you can't just leave."

Sam wasn't listening, however, and the Guardian knew it.

By the time Kai turned around, Sam was already down the road and walking to the school grounds. So much for bringing back that plan, it looked like Kai was going to have to go back to the drawing board.

"The world needs you, Sam," Kai said, softly. The Guardian looked up to the cloudy sky, feeling all the energy that was running around the city. It would soon be so intoxicating that the mortals would feel the changing climate.

Sam was nowhere near earshot, but Kai still felt the need to speak. He just had to get these words off his chest even if no one was listening.

"Whatever it was that you fought, it's not dead yet," said Kai. "The spirit is still out there, roaming the city for a new host. It will find a stronger body to inhabit and then it will start whatever it is that it has planned. I have no idea what that may be, but it will not be pretty. I felt this spirit; it is old and very angry. It is the force that I've been sensing for quite some time now. This is the force that will shatter the balance between harmony and discord. Sam…this is the battle that will make your destiny."

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

With a heart full of guilt, Sam had no idea how he had survived this past week of school. Considering everything that happened, the teen didn't know why he just didn't jump out of a window. Then again, suicide wasn't something that Sam did, except in the case of martyrdom, but that was a different story. Well, that was kind of how his story began actually.

It was all a blur at this point. The school year was almost over so naturally the students were running on auto-pilot, but Sam was suffering especially from this. He suffered more so because of the lack of spirit in his chest. His schoolwork remained steady and his football playing was adequate, but his performance in glee was declining. The club was a constant reminder of just how he had failed to do anything.

Everybody had been shaken up by what that criminal had done. Some carried injuries with them; some had a few bruises, and in Artie's case a near fatal experience.

Sam went through the daily motions before walking into glee club since football practice was cancelled for today. He wasn't even sure why he went into the choir room today. He was dreading anything that revolved around glee, which was completely different from how he felt before the event.

Things just were different, weird, since what happened after Regionals.

Instead of being thrilled for their next stop to Nationals, everyone felt a similar change wafting throughout the air. It made the air taste stale in the choir room, which drained the motivation of the performers. This was painfully obvious to everyone, but nobody was willing to do much about it.

Sam, especially, was hurting from this. Being in the choir room only served as a constant reminder of how broken he was. Even with Mika and Kurt sitting beside him, their presence wasn't enough to do anything when it came to salvaging Sam's broken pieces.

Mr. Schuster came into the choir room, feeling the drain as well. The teacher, however, felt he could do something about this negativity and bring the New Directions back to the top.

"I have some good news, guys," said Mr. Schuster. "I got a call from Artie's mother today. The doctor said that he's fully conscious so he's able to receive visitors so whenever you have the chance, I highly suggest you pay our friend a visit."

This did seem to bring some cheer back to the students. They were all concerned about their teammate so this one bit of good news did bring back a small, flicker of light.

"Did they say what his condition is?" asked Nicky. "He was shot in the back. Is he…fine?"

Mr. Schuster shook his head as he sucked in his lips for a moment. "The doctors said that Artie's spinal cord was damaged during the attack," said the teacher. "He's paralyzed from the waist down. The doctors aren't sure yet if he'll recover from what happened, they're going to run some tests on him to check the severity of damage."

"Poor Artie," whispered Tina. "He loves dancing so much."

"It's devastating," Mike said, wrapping an arm around her. "It's cruel that man took Artie's passion from him for no reason at all."

"At least Justice was able to stop him before going poof," said Finn. "Nobody else got hurt so I guess that's one thing to be grateful for."

"Some hero," mumbled Puck. "The guy vanishes just as all hell decides to break loose. All those crooks are running around the streets now and there's nobody there to stop them."

"How is that exactly different from what you are, Puck?" said Mercedes. "You're pretty much a crook yourself."

"I'm just a badass," Puck said, defending himself. "I don't go around stealing purses or holding people up at gun-point. I don't stoop that low."

Moving away from the topic of mugging and threatening the lives of people, Rachel decided to intervene. She had something to bring up that might help improve what was going on amongst her fellow New Directions members.

"Mr. Schu," Rachel said, raising her hand, "I know we have Nationals to prepare for, but clearly none of us are motivated to rehearse anything. Would it be possible for us just to go to the hospital and check up on Artie? I'm sure he'd appreciate it and maybe it'll help us get back on track if we know how he's doing."

"That sounds like a good idea, Rachel," said Mr. Schuster. "The hospital that Artie's staying in isn't too far from the school. We can easily walk there or take the bus."

"Walking sounds good," said Quinn. She was amongst the first to get up as she grabbed her coat and backpack. "It's a nice day today. Might as well try and enjoy it."

The others were in agreement as they began to stir and exited the choir room.

Sam was amongst the last to leave as he decided to move very slowly. His heart was clenched up into a ball as the guilt really started to hammer against him. He didn't know if he could bare seeing Artie, not after what happened the other week.

How could he see the boy that he failed to save?

Sam swallowed down all of that as he pushed himself out of the choir room. He followed the trail left behind by the rest of the club and they all eventually left the school to head over to the hospital.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

Seeing Artie like that was a painful experience for everyone, but it was amazing how well Artie was taking it. The guy kept his chin up, even though he knew things weren't looking so good for him.

It was beginning to get a little late and visiting hours were very much over right now so everyone was getting shooed out of the room by the nurse that was handling Artie. Puck tried to fight this a little longer, but failed to get anywhere with the major hottie. The gleeks said goodbye to Artie, wishing him a speedy recovery so that he could come back to school. Everyone began to head on out home when Kurt noticed Sam lingering behind a little longer then usual.

Kurt looked towards the others, noticing Mika helping a weepy Nicky out of the hospital. He went back to watching Sam when he began to see the disheartened expression on his neighbor's face. Kurt decided to do something about that as he walked back towards Sam, taking hold of his friend's hand while he wasn't paying attention.

"Penny for your thoughts," Kurt said, smiling.

Sam smirked at his friend as Kurt dragged him towards the elevator so that they could get out of the building. "I'm not really in the mood to share," Sam told Kurt. "This is just something that I had to go through on my own." The doors closed behind them as the elevator took them down to the ground floor of St. Michael's Hospital.

Kurt rolled his eyes as he released Sam's hand and leaned against the wall. "You know that's a load of crap, Sammy," said Kurt. "There's nothing that you're going through that I wouldn't understand. You do remember the hell I went through with Dave, right?"

"That was different," said Sam.

"You feel guilty," countered Kurt. "You think that maybe if you were there then things would've been different. If you hadn't left early then there might have been something you could've done to save Artie. Is that it?"

Sam placed his hand over his stomach, feeling a slight pain there. Actually, that was almost exactly how Sam felt about what happened. If he had acted faster, been stronger then maybe he could've spared Artie from becoming paralyzed.

"I don't get how you know me so well," said Sam.

"Maybe it has something to do with being friends for so long," Kurt said as the elevator doors opened. They made it to the ground floor and got out of there just as a crowd of nurses and doctors flooded the elevator. Kurt led Sam towards the exit, but not before taking a quick stop at one of the benches at the lobby.

They sat down for a moment, pausing to reflect on everything that happened.

Kurt touched Sam's hand, squeezing it tightly for a moment. "Sam, you can't blame yourself for what happened," said the older boy. "Not even Superman can stop everything on his own; you can't just carry the weight of the world on the shoulders."

"Are you saying I should find myself a Justice League?" laughed Sam.

"Shut up," Kurt said, pushing his arm. A smile cracked on the young man's face as he shared that laugh with Sam. It was good to see Sam smiling again, a real smile too because Kurt could see those gorgeous teeth. "I'm trying to be serious, Sam. But I guess that's one way of looking at that. We're best friends, Sam, you can talk to me about anything. You were there for me when I needed you most so I'm going to be there for, not out of obligation, but because I care about you."

The smile grew on Sam's larger as he felt closer to Kurt then he did in a long time. He squeezed Kurt's hand, tightly, in response to this. "You're an amazing friend, Kurt," said Sam. "I'm glad to have you in my life."

"As am I," Kurt said, pulling Sam back up to his feet.

The two of them continued to hold each other's hands, laughing as they made their way out of the hospital. They laughed like total idiots and pushed each other around while making their way to a parked cab.

Sam held the door open for Kurt, playfully pushing him inside. Kurt laughed though as his friend finally slid in the car and slammed the door so that the driver could take off.

All while Sam had a plan brewing up in his head. He would have to pay a visit to Blaine to get back the uniform because he had something important to do today. The guilt was still strong so Sam needed to do something big to help make that pain go away. He needed to have a talk with Artie as Justice.

But as the friends were about to go home to Brooklyn, Mika was getting ready to get into the towncar sent by his father. The boy smiled when he saw how happy Sam looked, but felt something boiling up inside of him when he saw that it was Kurt that made him happy. Seeing that Sam was all depressed for the past week and now that he was all happy around Kurt felt like a bit like a knife wound to Mika.

Going off on a jealous rampage was what Mika had originally intended to do. Probably go all Godzilla on the city would've been a great idea. However, that wasn't something a rational person would do. It wasn't something that Mika was going to do either as he felt the rain coming down.

Slowly, it really began to dawn on Mika just who Sam really wanted to be with. It sucked when he thought about it, but he felt a little dumb for not realizing it sooner. Sam was too much of a gentleman to do anything to break Mika's heart. He was just too sweet of a guy to do anything like that, but Mika knew that he had the power to do something about that.

Not yet though, Mika would save this for when he knew that Sam was really back to normal. He didn't want to risk sending Sam back to that depressed, zombie boy that's been walking around for the passed week.

* * *

><p>(Artie)<p>

There was a lot of silence in the hospital at this point. Visiting hours had long since been over and there was no major surgery scheduled that would cause the slightest bit of disturbance. Nobody was in the building except for those working the graveyard shift, and, of course, the patients.

Amongst those patients was Artie who was sleeping peacefully in his bed. Well, he was as comfortable as could be expected. Hospital beds weren't famous for being the most comfortable things to sleep on and the teen longed for those few hours were he'd be out of that so-called bed. Still, he couldn't complain so much since he did have one fine nurse taking care of him during the day.

But that was something he didn't tell Nicky since she wouldn't like that one bit. Puck already nearly blew that for him during the gleeks visit today.

It was great to see all of his friends again since it felt like a million years since he last saw them. The event might have only been a week ago, but for Artie it felt so much longer. That's just how time worked when you were stuck in a hospital; time either slowed down to a crawl or sped up to a million years.

Either way, this wasn't exactly thrilling for Artie.

But things were about to get a lot more interesting.

Naturally stirring from bed, Artie started to open his eyes just as he thought he saw a blur race across his room. His body initially tensed up from the shock of this. He practically threw his chest up from bed, expecting that he would suddenly get eaten up by Leviathan like all those people on Supernatural.

Good show, but right now, Artie was on the verge of peeing himself.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," said a voice in the shadows. "I just wanted to check on how you were doing. It is, after all, my fault that you're in the hospital.

Artie tried to figure out who the voice belonged to, but he couldn't exactly point it out. The teen reached out to the small table by his bed and retrieved his glasses to have a better chance of making out the blur.

Things were clearer once Artie had his glasses on. In seconds, he spotted out the leather-clad figure that stood in the dark corner of his room. His figure was covered in the black clothing that he wore with his face hidden behind a hood. Artie was able to figure out who this was once he saw the pair of red wings on the back of the jacket.

"You're Justice, aren't you?" said Artie.

"That's what I used to go by," said the young hero. "I can't go around calling myself Justice any more. It's more like Loser now."

"Why are you beating yourself up?" said Artie. "You saved all those lives, you saved mine."

Justice turned his head to the side, looking out the window to see that none of the staff was making their rounds. At least he was certain now that he'd have time to talk to the paralyzed teen. "But I didn't save you," said the broken-hearted, young man. "Look at yourself. It's all my fault that you're in this condition. I couldn't save you so this is the price. Your life is ruined because I failed as a hero."

Artie could see the guilt in the hero's face even if he couldn't see his full face. The teen began to twiddle his thumbs a little bit before shaking his head at Justice. "No, you're wrong about that," Artie said, firmly. "You haven't failed anyone yet. I could've died, but you stopped that…man from killing me. If you weren't there, what would've stopped him from shooting me again or someone else for that matter?"

"But—"

"No buts!" Artie said, cheerfully. "I don't want you to feel guilty for what happened, Justice. I don't blame you for this." He pointed at his legs, making it clear that he knew exactly how bad his condition was. "Even if I never get to walk again, at least I can say I'm still alive. I can still kiss my girlfriend, I can continue telling my parents that I love them, and I can still sing."

"The day of the accident started out the best day of my life," Artie said, closing his eyes. "I got to do what I enjoy doing, performing. For one day, I got to be the lead guy, which I thought would never happen to me. I got to sing at Regionals, I had a whole song to myself, I got to push my voice to new extremes. And we won, I was able to lead us to victory, of course with Santana's help, but we did it. I had my moment in the spotlight, all to myself for a change."

"You deserve more then just a moment though," said Justice.

"It wouldn't be life if we always got what we deserved," said Artie. "I'm just happy that I had my moment, I'll treasure it always. So…Justice, please don't blame yourself for what happened to me. Don't hold yourself responsible and just quit. There are so many bad people in this world, please, don't take away one of the few good people from it who could make a difference by giving up. We need you to make a difference, to protect the little guy."

Justice began to smile as he felt his heart hammering against his chest. A surge of strength began to course throughout his body and pushed him to get out from this rut he was stuck in. The hero started to make his way to Artie's bed, kneeling down beside the teen's side.

Artie stared at the hero, wondering just where this was going to go.

"Thank you," Justice said, softly. "I promise, Artie, that I won't let you down. I'll keep on making a difference so long as you continue reaching out for that spotlight."

That caused a smile to form on Artie's face as he extended his fist to Justice. "You got yourself a deal, hero," said the hospitalized teen. He waited for Justice to bump fists with him, which did happen. For this little geek, it was a cool moment because how many other guys can say that they bumped fists with a superhero?

Not many could.

Justice took the liberty to thank Artie once more for pulling him back, while Artie reminded him that he was the one who owed the hero the gratitude. After that, Justice quickly made his way out of the hospital since there was so much work that needed to be done.

The hero has been going for far too long. There was so much crime in the city that something needed to be done about it before it grew too wild.

And Justice was just the hero to clean this mess.

* * *

><p>(Kai)<p>

It was always quite a sight, watching him fight against the criminals in the city.

The Guardian knelt down on the rooftop after he felt a change in the spiritual atmosphere. That was the purpose he left his apartment that night, which is how he found Justice making his big comeback. The hero in leather was breezing through crime, dealing with all the petty thugs and lowlifes that damaged the order of the city.

Right now, Justice found himself a group of gangbangers that were plotting on raising a bit of hell. Their intentions were to pilfer a few cars from their owners, beating up the innocent owners in the process. Not exactly the greatest of plans, but since there was half a dozen of them about to gang up on one man, it was just an unfair fight.

And Justice was not one to allow that to slip through the cracks. The hero wouldn't stand, allowing such an injustice to go one unpunished.

The criminals didn't even know what was coming their way until it was far too late to do anything about it. When they were about to perform a little grand theft auto, they were in for a big surprise. Justice was on their backs, teaching them a lesson that they soon wouldn't forget.

Justice grabbed onto two of the criminals and slammed them against each other. This caused them both to get knocked out from the impact of their faces. The bumping of their noses and foreheads was the cause of them dropping to the ground, completely unconscious and unable to do their companions any good.

Another one of them pulled out a switchblade on Justice, but that proved to be completely ineffective. Justice simply snatched the knife out of his hand before slamming his boot into the thug's ribcage. The shock of pain that ripped through his body sent the thug down for the count, leaving behind only three more idiots.

"This is already turning out bad for you," said Justice. "Do we really need to keep on playing this game?"

"Kill the bastard!" shouted their ringleader.

"I guess we do," the hero sighed.

Justice had to teach the remaining three a lesson that they refused to learn from the rest of their peer group. There was no shame in knocking some sense into the idiots so Justice fought freely.

His elbow bumped into the throat of one of the mindless idiots, causing him to barf a little bit from the violation. The hero was a little grossed out, but kept his stomach in check since the barf did not land on him.

The next criminal ended up getting knocked in the knees. Justice pushed enough force onto the thug's foot, effectively, breaking it with the right amount of force. As the thug screamed, Justice flipped him around and threw him down on the concrete.

"Saved the best for last," Justice said, jumping into the air.

Before the criminal had a chance to run away, Justice was on top of him. The hero latched his limbs all around the criminal then forced him into a nearby brick wall. Once he was close enough, Justice pulled back and kicked the thug so that he would crash into the wall as the hero landed gracefully on his feet.

All six of the gangbangers were taken down in a matter of minutes, which went to show how out of shape Justice was. Normally, he would've taken care of them in less then three minutes, today it took him almost five.

It looked like he still had some ways to go before he was back into full, superhero shape.

Oh well, there was plenty of city to practice in and the night was still young.

Then Guardian decided to make himself well-known to Justice. The Oriental leaped from the rooftop to land beside the young hero who just kicked some serious ass.

"I'm glad to see you out of that funk of yours," said Guardian. He didn't see the sense in trying to mask their conversation by dragging Justice off someplace else. The gangbangers were completely done for so they were safe to talk. "It wasn't a pleasant look for you."

"Sorry that I was such a Debby Downer," said Justice. "I just…I just had some issues to work out. What happened last week just completely threw me off my game. I never imagined that something like that could happen. It was like my worst nightmare coming true, you know?"

Guardian nodded his head, but he was afraid that he had to burst Justice's bubble. There was no point in sugar-coating this, however. "I'm afraid it will only get worse from here, Sam," said Guardian. "This battle with that spirit was only the first of many. I predict that things will only grow more chaotic before we can even reach a new dawn. A battle is looming over the horizon. You have much to do before that time does come, however. Time is not on our side."

"Well then, Kai," Justice said, cracking his knuckles, "I guess I have some work to do."

And with that said, it was like the pistol went off for the hero. Justice didn't waste a second longer with talking. The hero just immediately took off to wherever it was that the wind took him.

There was plenty of crime running around New York, and Justice had all night to catch up on righting some wrongs.

* * *

><p>END!<p>

Get excited for the next chapter because it will be Nationals and Sam is going make a big leap forward.


	10. A Call to Arms

**Author's Note: **A quick, longer update. WOOOOO! I'm exhausted. You can thank Seph90 for one of the song selections in this chapter, specifically the one that Kurt will perform. Prepare to hate me once again. Oh well. Read and review! PLEASE!

**A Call to Arms: **

(Kai)

Watching the scene unfolding before them was rather amusing.

In the couple of months that followed Sam's collapse, the young hero has since risen back to glory. No longer putting the guilt on himself for what happened to Artie, Sam started to make his comeback in the city. As Justice, the teen was able to bring back some peace to the city as crime began to learn to fear the hands of Justice.

During one of his patrols, Kai decided to watch to serve his role of Guardian. He monitored the pattern of the young hero, making sure that the teen didn't go overboard with the heroics. The fear of losing control like he did with Dave was still a constant fear for Justice, even if it was justified in that case. At least the hero had someone like Kai around to make sure that he didn't go that far in the deep end.

Plus, there was also Blaine who decided to follow tonight. New York had gotten a lot warmer since it was finally May, which meant that summer was about to begin. Blaine was able to dress in his more colorful, breezy clothing opposed to his stiff, winter collection. The uppity teen was sitting on the edge of the rooftop with a cup of coffee in his hands, watching as Justice kicked some serious ass. The brunet flinched as he saw a thug getting their face smashed against a brick wall.

"No amount of cosmetic surgery will make that fucker pretty again," Blaine said, sipping his coffee. "I feel bad for the chick that has to kiss that face. She does not know what of mess she is getting herself into."

Kai rolled his eyes as he listened to the latest of Blaine's snarky comments. He still wasn't exactly supportive of Blaine being here, but he did trust Sam's judgment, to some extent.

The Guardian continued to watch, ignoring anything else that Blaine had to say for the moment. He wanted to focus on Justice's fighting talents, while also checking the air for anything suspicious.

Since the attack, the spiritual veil has been unchanging. The arrival of one Abomination should've led to more springing up, but for some reason that wasn't happening. It worried Kai as he thought about a logical reason for such a delay. However, all the reasoning seemed to lead to something far worse then he wanted to admit was coming to pass.

The spirit in control of the abomination was still out there, unattached to a person or at least inactive. This could only mean that the spirit was higher up on the food chain, which meant that the spirit had something big up its sleeve. Unaware of just what this plot was terrified Kai to no point as a Guardian.

It was the duty of a Guardian to maintain order, but this spirit was going to threaten the very core of harmony.

"You don't exactly talk much do you?" Blaine asked, holding his coffee. "Is there a particular reason for that? Are you the strong silent type?" When he noticed that Kai still wasn't paying him much attention that got Blaine really motivated.

The teen got away from the edge so to properly stand up, looking at the Guardian with questioning eyes. "I designed Sam's outfit and funded its creation," said Blaine. "Sure, you got this whole, sexy ninja look going, but I can easily fix you something else. Maybe something that will better show off your body. How does a one-piece sound?"

"Must you insist on being so annoying?" Kai said, finally paying Blaine some attention.

And that was exactly the trap that Blaine was trying to snag Kai up in. Rich boy slung his arm around the Guardian's shoulder and took a quick sip of his warm coffee. "I knew I could provoke a reaction from you," said Blaine. "Nobody can ignore me for too long. Even Sam practically worshipped the ground I walked upon soon after we met."

"I'm not interested in men," said the Guardian, figuring this was where it was going.

Choking on his coffee, Blaine had to release Kai so to help guide his drink down his throat. He was coughing for a moment, while Kai stood there and waited to see if he was in any serious danger of choking to death.

"That's not…where I was going," Blaine said, coughing out his troubles. The teen recomposed himself before looking over at Kai once more. "I'm just trying to figure out why you don't seem to like me very much. I'm a very likeable guy, even if I can be a little cocky every once and a while."

"You shouldn't be here," Kai said, simply. "This is dangerous territory that you're venturing into, one where you cannot protect yourself from." The Guardian pulled out his sai and pointed it at Blaine. "Sam is a Spirit-Warrior; he has been marked as a chosen of the spirits and the gods. I am a Guardian; I am connected to generations of gatekeepers who protect the balance between harmony and discord. And then there is you, Blaine Anderson, rich boy and heir to a financial kingdom."

"You forgot to mention my stunning good looks and chest hair," Blaine said with a sarcastic smile. He slowly pushed the Guardian's sai away from him before strolling closer to him. The teen looked down to where Sam continued to fight the crimes of the city as Justice. "Sam is my best friend. He trusts me with his secret; he believes I can do something to help him. Even if all I really can do is hook him up with a badass uniform and cover for him with his folks." The teen shrugged his shoulders before looking back to Kai. "So be it, I'll do my part to help Sam just like you're doing your part to help him. You teach him control and I keep him able to hit the streets at night."

"I still don't think you should be here," Kai said, shaking his head. "But at least I can say that you're loyal to your friends. That is a good quality to have."

The Guardian walked over to the edge of the rooftop, watching as Sam put an end to the fight. Blaine looked down just in time to see Sam leap up the building and landed with the remarkable grace of a feline.

Sam pulled down the hood and removed his mask. The blond headed teen began to gush about how much fun that was. The rush that he gets from fighting crime was so exhilarating that it made Sam feel completely invincible.

Blaine couldn't help but to laugh as his friend dragged him to dance. "You should save the energy, Superboy," Blaine said, shaking a leg. The teens kept on dancing for a moment longer before Blaine finally had to stop Sam. "Nationals are tomorrow. You need to go home and get some rest."

"Alright!" Sam said, wrapping an arm over Blaine's shoulder. "Then I suppose that is enough crime fighting for tonight. I shall rest for Nationals and I will see you both at the auditorium."

"Goodnight, Samuel," Kai said, agreeing to show up. "Night, Blaine."

"Night, sexy Asian man!" grinned Blaine.

The Guardian rolled his eyes once more as he leaped from the building and disappeared into the concrete jungle.

Sam couldn't help but to laugh at Blaine a little. They grabbed all their stuff then took off together with Sam flying his friend back to his penthouse before going home himself.

* * *

><p>(Mika)<p>

It was already half past noon when Mika checked his watch, still waiting for a certain Sam Evans to show up. He told Sam to meet him at the park around noon because he wanted to talk to him. This was going to be the big talk too since Mika felt that they were both beating around the bush for far too long.

The young Valentine, however, would have the preemptive strike. Mika didn't like where this would be going, but it was something that just had to be done for both of their sakes. They couldn't just continue going on how they were. It wasn't fair to either one to just continue using the other like this.

So the boy kept on waiting until he finally spotted the tall, blond headed boy running up towards him. Sam looked rather relaxed in his jeans and a t-shirt, which made sense since it was the weekend. Even Mika had dressed down a little bit to enjoy the warmer weather that they had been having.

"I'm sorry for being late, hun," said Sam. The older teen dropped down on the bench where he then took the liberty to kiss Mika's cheek. His lips briefly touched the flushed cheek of the younger boy. "The subway was ridiculous. For whatever reason, they were running like a billion years late."

The young boy nodded his head to show Sam that he wasn't mad. He just kept fighting the urge to kiss Sam back with a real kiss, but he had to remember the whole point of their meeting like this. "That's fine," said Mika. "I don't blame you." He started to fumble around with his fingers as he purposely avoided looking Sam in the eyes.

Sam wasn't oblivious to this fact and wondered what could possibly responsible for Mika's oddness. This wasn't how his boyfriend usually behaved so it did worry him a bit as he scooted closer to him. "What's the matter, Mika?" asked Sam. "Did something happen? Is it your dad or your brothers? Are they giving you a hard time again?"

"No," Mika said, softly. "The home life is fine. It's just…I just need to do this now while I have the strength." Sam raised a curious eyebrow as the boy took in a deep breath. Mika straightened himself out and turned to face Sam, taking hold of the older boy's hands. "Sam, I'm breaking up with you."

The bluntness of it all completely caught Sam off his guard. That and there was the fact that Sam hadn't seen this coming at all. If there had been any signs of them breaking up, Sam had been completely oblivious to them for whatever reason they may be.

Shaking his head, Sam tried to understand why this was. "I don't understand," said Sam. "I thought we were doing well? Why do you want to break up with me?"

"Because I know that you don't love me," said Mika. "You try to convince yourself that you're in love with me, but you're not. I finally realized that I'm not the boy that you want to be with."

"That's not true," Sam said, feeling his heart beating. He tried to pull himself closer to Mika, holding onto the boy's warm hands. "I do love you. I always mean it everytime that I say it."

"You don't love me like you love Kurt though," said Mika. The way that Mika said it, without so much as a hint of pain in his voice had stunned Sam. The first thing that came to Sam's mind was how Mika could find out. Second, why did Mika seem so…unaffected by this?

For a moment, Mika relaxed his guard as he felt Sam's touch on his hands. Then, the resolve to pull away began to take affect for him. "Kurt is the one you want to be with," said Mika. "You love him so much that it's plenty obvious that it hurts you when you're not around him."

Sam closed his eyes, taking his hands away from Mika. He used one hand to run through his own hair as the other sat lifeless on his lap. "How did you find out?" asked Sam.

"I saw you two leaving the hospital together when we went to see Artie," said Mika. "I've never seen you so happy, Sam, then when you were with Kurt. As much as it sucks, it was beautiful seeing the both of you like that. Like you two were made for each other that it's only natural for you to be together like that."

"Mika," whispered Sam.

The boy didn't have anymore of that though as he leaned close to kiss Sam on the cheek. He pulled his body away and took the liberty to stand up on his own two feet. He wasn't about to cry, oddly enough, he didn't even feel the need to cry.

This is what was best for them both; it was the best way that they could end it without either one feeling heartache.

"You are a remarkable guy, Sam," said Mika. "I am so happy that I had your love for a while. I'm glad that you were my first boyfriend and not some crazy jerk. When I remember you, I'll always have good memories to reflect on."

"Mika," Sam whispered again. "I love you."

Mika began to smile as he held onto Sam's hand for the last time. "I know you do, Sam," said the boy. "I love you too. But this is what's best for both of us. You and I both deserve someone who'll love us whole-heartedly. Thank you, for always being there for me."

"And you too," said Sam. "I'm sorry that I was in love with someone else, but…I've been in love with Kurt since I was a kid. I respected his space through the whole Dave thing, knowing I wouldn't stand a chance. I knew that I could find happiness with you."

"We were happy," said Mika, "but I think you should go out and get your true happiness."

Sam's hand was no longer being held by Mika as the boy started to walk away to the car that was waiting for him. Mika didn't have the driver go far away since he wasn't expecting to take long here. And he didn't once Sam showed up.

As painful and disgusting this could've been, it actually turned out to end fairly well.

Mika was amazed with himself for how that ended. He didn't have to go threaten to have his daddy beat up Sam, which was always a good thing. Knowing his father, Mika actually shivered at the thoughts of what could've happened to Sam. But that was one of the many secrets he would keep to his grave.

Nobody was going to know just what kind of shady activities that his father was involved with. Not a single soul could know what Drake Valentine did for a living when he wasn't running a multi-million dollar corporation.

As for Sam, he was relieved for being unattached, but disappointed in the way that he had gotten it. He felt it unfair to Mika, but he also saw that this was how the boy wanted things to turn out. This wasn't supposed to be ugly, spiteful, or anything in between all of that. It was peaceful, mutual, something that they could both see that they handled with the utmost maturity.

And Sam also realized just how truly remarkable of a boy that Mika Valentine was. He wished nothing but good things to happen to the boy for the rest of his days.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

The pint of Ben and Jerry's did come very much in handy. Kurt had originally planned to save it for a rainy day, but it turned out that the rainy day wouldn't be for him. He was completely surprised to see Sam at his doorstep with such a bummed look on his usually cherry, southern boy face. What was even more surprising was to hear that Mika had broken up with Sam, hence why the ice cream was deemed necessary.

Kurt and Sam were sitting down on the living room sofa with the ice cream sitting on the table with two spoons sticking out. Some ridiculous reality TV show was on, neither one paying attention to that though.

Sam was in a bit of a daze, still kind of in shock that Mika had broken up with him. Even though the blond had accepted that it happened, it still just blindsided him. From out of the blue, Mika ended their relationship. Well, not so out of the blue. Mika kinda figured out that Sam was deeply in love with Kurt, hence why.

However, that last part was kept a secret from Kurt, glossed over with pretty lies.

"Alright then," Kurt said, sitting up, "let me get this straight. Mika broke up with you because neither one of you two really loved each other?" For the hundredth time, Kurt repeated this key phrase before moving onto a million different analyses. "That's so weird though. You two always seemed so good together, always smiling and laughing and holding hands."

"It did feel a little empty," said Sam. "I think our problem was that we just fell into such a deep routine that there wasn't hope of picking things up. But this was the best for the both of us. We got out of things before we spent too much of an emotional investment on each other where things could've ended a bloody mess. Like Mika said, this is the best way we could've ended things."

Kurt nodded his head as he agreed to this mutual arrangement. It was a good way to end a relationship, not because one of you was psychotically abusive and got locked away in prison. But why force his issues onto Sam? There was no need for that, so Kurt remained silent on that part as he retrieved the pint of ice cream to steal a huge scoop.

Sam couldn't help but to chuckle as he witnessed Kurt licking away at the giant glob. The blond retrieved his spoon to get a bit of ice cream too before Kurt had ate it all. "Enough of about romance, let's talk about Nationals," said Sam. "They are in two weeks and I know a certain someone has his very own solo. He shall be singing a song from 'Phantom of the Opera'. Sounds amazing."

"I'm absolutely petrified!" Kurt said, holding onto the pint. "What if I screw up? What if I have like this massive meltdown? Or I forget the words? Or worse…I forget to put my pants on and walk on stage in my Dior underwear. Like, I know I should feel more concerned for Artie. He's been back for two months and we've fitted him into the routines pretty well so that he's still a part of the club. But right now, I'm like completely freaking out that I'm going to screw up. What if I really do walk onto the stage in my underwear?"

That was a pretty picture for Sam's mind. It was one that he'd have to store away in his brain for later when he didn't feel guilty about the Mika breakup.

But back to being a regular, none crushing on your best friend, person, Sam leaned towards Kurt and took the young man's hand. He squeezed it firmly so to remind Kurt just what kind of guy he had grown into.

"Listen to me, Kurt Hummel," said Sam. "You are a talented singer and the most God damn fashionable man on the planet. There is no way on this green earth that you'll screw up this performance. Everyone at Nationals will bow before you magnificence because you will blow the entire competition out of the water! Even Rachel will be wetting herself once she sees how talented that you really are because you won't be holding back, not even for a second."

A smile grace Kurt's face as he placed the pint of ice cream and his spoon onto the table. He removed Sam's spoon too, dropping that in the half-eaten pint. He then took the liberty to throw his arms around Sam's body, hugging the teen as tightly as he could.

Sam hugged Kurt back and applied a gentle squeeze against him.

"Thank you, Sam," said Kurt. "You always know the right things to say when I'm feeling down. I have no idea what I'd do without you around."

"Crash and burn," laughed Sam, "but let's try not to think about it."

Kurt couldn't help but to laugh as well as he pushed Sam back to his side of the sofa. He went back to the ice cream and started actually to watch the show that was on his dad's flat screen.

As for Sam, he just continued to laugh like a total idiot. He wasn't laughing because of what ridiculous things these housewives were arguing about; it had more to do with Kurt. Like Mika had noticed, everything just flowed so naturally whenever he was around Kurt so much so that it felt perfect.

The universe just made sense when he was with Kurt.

Sam could see it now; the two of them were made for each other.

* * *

><p>(Kai)<p>

There was a pause as the Guardian read the crystals, looking for signs of the coming battle.

All of the signs were very unclear and were growing hazier by the day. Kai tried to get some kind of hint of these future battles, but something was changing all of the rules. The order between harmony and discord was slowly disintegrating. The Guardian could see that much for certain. There was something else that was in the way, however, and it might be able to help them.

"It's being delayed," Kai said, softly. "Something is causing a delay in the battle. This is good; this gives us more time to figure out what we're up against and what it desires."

The Guardian jumped from the couch and went over to his map of the city. All five burrows were blown up onto the wall with a pattern off Justice's activity in the city as well as the location of where the spirit attack was. He was trying to spot some kind of pattern that might explain what was going on. Something that they could use as a foundation to figure out just what was responsible for attacking the city and how to stop this dark force.

"This is a start at least," said Kai. "If we can push back this battle then we stand a chance. Sam can get stronger and hopefully he'll be able to stand up to whatever it is that's coming our way. Yes, this our only hope for survival."

"But," Kai whispered, "my own future is becoming cloudier by the day. I'm…I'm very uncertain about what will happen to me. There is no hint that I'll even be around for when the battle finally begins. I have to do something to make sure that my legacy can at least continue."

And with a deep sigh escaping his chest, Kai turned away from his map as he realized that he needed to start finding his successor.

* * *

><p>(Blaine)<p>

Nationals was about to begin with a massive bang.

In the sea of chaos that was taking over the theater, the crowd drawn in for the Show Choir Nationals was actually fairly impressive. The dozens of competing clubs were bursting with excitement; amongst those were the New Directions who were incredibly anxious to get on the stage.

Amongst the crowd was Blaine. He had just showed up to find Sam's family saving a few seats, one of which had his name all over it. "Thanks for saving me a seat," said a cheerful Blaine. He sat down beside Stevie, placing his hands over his lap at rest.

"Don't mention it, sweetheart," said Sam's mother. "I'm just so excited to see my Sammy. I just know this will be incredible."

"It better be," said Stevie. "I don't want my audition to be pointless."

"That's right," said Blaine. "Sam told me that you're going to the Academy next school year. It's been a long time since you've been in the same school as your big brother."

"Yes, it has," Stevie said, reclining back.

The crowd began to go silent as the announcer did his job and announced the performers. The first round of performers went on the stage, making a massive splash for the crowd. Blaine had to admit that they were pretty good and even made sure to take some mental notes to give to the Warblers. He might be graduating next week, but he couldn't leave his buddies with nothing.

After they listened to the other clubs, the New Directions were about to come to the stage for their performance.

Blaine was cheering loudly as they got on the stage. Sheila and Uncle Sam were bursting with excitement, while Stevie just waited for something that he could make fun of Sam later with. That was always fun for him.

The lights started to dim down with Kurt slowly walking onto the stage. He let out a deep sigh before belting out a song from his throat. "You were once my one companion. You were all that mattered," sang Kurt. He looked through the crowd, spotting his father sitting beside his step-mother. The smile on the boy's face formed when he focused on him. "You were once a friend and father then my world was shattered."

"Wishing you were somehow here again. Wishing you were somehow near. Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed. Somehow you would be here."

Kurt strolled around the stage, slowly, while a few of the gleeks joined them. "Wishing I could here your voice again, knowing that I never would." Brittany, Mike, Santana, and Sam were the ones who joined him. They danced around in a ballet manner, while Kurt continued to let the words flow through him. "Dreaming of you helped me to do. All that you dreamed I could."

"Passing bells and sculpted angels, cold and monumental. Seem for you the wrong companion, you were warm and gentle."

"Too many years. Fighting back tears. Why can't the past just die!"

"Wishing you were here again. Knowing we must say goodbye."

"Try to forgive. Teach me to live. Give me the strength to try!"

"No more memories. No more silent tears. No more gazing across the wasted years."

"Help me say goodbye. Help me say goodbye!"

Kurt stepped aside with the rest of the members of New Directions entering the stage. Rachel was his replacement as she stepped out with an angelic grace, briefly touching the hand of her friend. Finn helped Artie onto the stage, rolling him along as they joined in amongst the performers. Everyone began to touch hands as they circled around one another before stopping at their proper points.

Rachel touched her stomach, letting out a song from her throat. "I wake in the morning tired of sleeping. Get in the shower and make my bed alone," sang Rachel. "I put on my makeup talking to the mirror. Ready for a new day without you."

"And I walk steady on my feet, I talk, my voice obeys me. I go out at night, sleep without the lights. And I do all of the things I have to keeping you off my mind. But when I think I'll be alright I am always wrong 'cause."

The teens all belted out the chorus together, singing in a combined tide of vocal power. "My hands, don't wanna start again. My hands, no, they don't wanna understand. My hands, they just shake and try to break whatever peace I may find." Grabbing hands while they danced, the teens danced around the stage as they continued to sing their hearts out for this performance. "My hands, they only agree to hold. Your hands, and they don't wanna be without. Your hands, and they will not let me go, no, they will not let me go."

"I talk about you now and go a day without crying. I go out with my friends now, I stay home all alone." Rachel locked hands with Mercedes and Tina, strolling along the stage with them. "And I don't see you everywhere and I can say your name easily. I laugh a bit louder without you."

"And I see different shades now and I'm almost never afraid now. But when I think I'll be okay I am always wrong 'cause."

"My hands, don't wanna start again. My hands, no, they don't wanna understand. My hands, they just shake and try to break whatever peace I may find. My hands, they only agree to hold. Your hands, no, they don't wanna be without. Your hands, and they will not let me go, no, they will not let me go."

Rachel sang out at the very top of her lungs for her big moment. She had Puck standing behind her, holding onto her hands as she tried to tune out everything else as she focused on this one moment. "Sometimes I wake, I see them reaching out for you. Quietly breaking whatever shields I spent so long building up. I cannot fake 'cause when they cry I'm unspoken." Puck's arms were wrapped around Rachel with his hands locked with her, firmly. The two looked at each other with Rachel pretending to look at Puck with a loving stare to empower their performance. "They miss holding my baby."

The pause filled the stage as Rachel broke away from Puck, running up to the front of the stage. Everyone held their hands out to her as the end of their performance was rushing after them.

"My hands, no, they don't wanna understand. They just shake and try to break whatever peace I may find. My hands, your hands, they don't wanna be without. Your hands, and they will not let me go, no, they will not let me go."

Everyone danced, touching hands, while Rachel gave out the best performance of her life.

"My hands, don't wanna start again. My hands, no, they don't wanna understand. My hands, they just shake and try to break whatever peace I may find. My hands, only agree to hold. Your hands, no, they don't wanna be without. Your hands, and they will not let me go, no, they will not let me go."

Rachel took in a deep breath as she turned back, grabbing onto Puck's hands. Everyone else was hanging onto somebody's hand, letting her sing out the final bit. The gleeks gave out a deep sigh as they brought an end to the song.

"No, they will not let me go," sang Rachel.

* * *

><p>(Unknown)<p>

The intoxicating darkness was all that sustained him at this point. Feeding off the anger of the inhabitants of New York gave the spirit so much power, but it wasn't enough to free him from this ethereal existence.

After what happened with Justice, the spirit knew that it couldn't continue to act out just as he was. The thing he needed most was a physical form, one that truly belonged to him, not some worthless mortal that wasn't worth his two cents. But the idiot had served a purpose; the meat bag gave the spirit a chance to strengthen his own existence by establishing a permanent foothold on this world.

The spirit lingered in the more hostile streets of the city. The feeding that helped to sustain the spirit was exactly the reason why he stayed where he was. Already, the outline of a human form was beginning to take shape, but it wasn't truly corporeal just yet. He still needed more hate…anger…vengeance in order to get the body that he so desperately craved.

But that was only the first check in his agenda. There was so much more that this spirit wanted that it couldn't get just yet. It wasn't so much that having a body was delaying all these plans; it was humanity that was keeping things at bay. To be more precise, it was all that humanity, good-will, harmony that was interfering with his plans.

What the spirit needed to do was shattered the balance between harmony and discord. It would take some serious effort on his part, but it wasn't impossible. Countless spirits had tilted the balance of power on numerous occasions. Hell, some truly powerful spirits were responsible for triggering World War I and World War II.

If those spirits could cause humanity to virtually extinguish enough through such cruelty then causing an apocalypse would be simple.

The spirit laughed to himself as he sat against a brick wall. Taking in the filthy stench of the city, the spirit could not wait to drag this entire world into destruction. An apocalypse was exactly what humanity deserved. Their annihilation would be their penance for what happened to him all those centuries ago.

He didn't seek vengeance so much for himself, but for all those lives that had been stolen in the process. All of those innocents that had been lost; and for what purpose did that serve? There was no point at all to their deaths! It was just the cruelty of humanity that all those precious cherubs were taken long before their time.

"You will all be avenged," vowed the spirit, "I promise you that. When I open the Door then humans will be completely wiped off the face of the Earth. It can all go back to being Paradise; we'll finally reclaim Eden and be at long last at peace with ourselves. No more suffering, no more pain."

"But first thing is first," said the spirit, "I have to crush the Chosen." He held his ghostly fist up into the air, clenching it tightly. The darkness all around his being was radiating with pure fury as he knew only vengeance from the centuries of heartache. "The Chosen Hero is all that stands in my way. Defeating him will grant me access to what I seek. The Door will open and I will finally bring salvation to this doomed race."

The spirit laughed, mindlessly as the feast continued and his life was inching closer to being restored.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

Nationals was phenomenal for the New Directions. They might not have gotten first place, but they couldn't complain too much since they came in at second. Last year, they were at twelfth place, and this year they came in at second on the national level.

It was remarkable and it more then enough to motivate the New Directions for next year.

However, first things first, they needed to celebrate. And Blaine was just itching for an excuse to have a party at the penthouse since his folks were away for the next two weeks. So in conjunction with the graduation celebration, Blaine invited the Warblers over to celebrate New Directions' second place win.

The penthouse was prettied up for a party as the New Directions partied with the Warblers. His place was going psycho as they danced, drank, ate, and laughed at their entire insanity.

Mercedes and Nicky were hanging arm-to-arm with each other as they shrugged off all bad feelings they had at the beginning at the year. Their divaness had finally brought them together to where they could find some common ground with one another.

One of the Warblers, Jeff, shamelessly tried to flirt with Brittany. The poor guy tried so hard, only to fail when Santana showed up to drag the ditsy blonde away with a searing kiss. As the girls walked away, some of the other Warblers and Puck started to jump on Jeff's balls as they made fun of him. Puck was especially cruel since this was Noah Asshole Puckermen.

Blaine got on the stage with a microphone to sing along to the karaoke machine. He turned to Sam who was stuck dancing with Brittany and Santana. Rich boy pulled the blond by the arm, dragging him up to the stage that Blaine would throw his impromptu performance.

"You're singing with me, bitch!" said Blaine.

Sam took the extra microphone, laughing as he realized what song Blaine selected. The southern boy began to dance alongside his friend when the music started to play.

Everyone in the room started to cheer as they recognized the familiar beat.

Blaine was the one who started things off, being the drama queen that he was. "There's a stranger in my bed. There's a pounding in my head. Glitter all over the room. Pink flamingos in the pool. I smell like a minibar. DJ's passed out in the yard. Barbie's on the barbeque. Is this a hickie or a bruise?"

Sam decided to backup up Blaine at this point. "Pictures of last night ended up online. I'm screwed. Oh well. It's a blacked out blur but I'm pretty sure it ruled. Damn!"

The fearless duo began to dance together, causing both the Warblers and New Directions to go a little psycho. "Last Friday night. Yeah, we danced on tabletops. And we took too many shots. Think we kissed but I forgot. Last Friday night. Yeah, we maxed our credit cards and got kicked out of the bar. So we hit the boulevard."

"Last Friday night. We went streaking in the park. Skinny dipping in the dark. Then had a ménage à trios. Last Friday night. Yeah I think we broke the law. Always say we're gonna stop. Whoa-oh-oah."

"This Friday night. Do it all again. This Friday night. Do it all again."

Sam took control of their little number, pushing Blaine aside this time. "Trying to connect the dots. Don't know what to tell my boss. Think the city towed my car. Chandelier is on the floor." Grabbing his v-neck, he pulled it up a little to show off his abs as he really got into the song. "Ripped my favorite party dress. Warrant's out for my arrest. Think I need a ginger ale. That was such an epic fail."

"Pictures of last night ended up online. I'm screwed. Oh well. It's a blacked out blur but I'm pretty sure it ruled. Damn!"

"Last Friday night. Yeah, we danced on tabletops. And we took too many shots. Think we kissed but I forgot. Last Friday night. Yeah, we maxed our credit cards and got kicked out of the bar. So we hit the boulevard."

"Last Friday night. We went streaking in the park. Skinny dipping in the dark. Then had a ménage à trios. Last Friday night. Yeah I think we broke the law. Always say we're gonna stop. Whoa-oh-oah."

"This Friday night. Do it all again. Do it all again. This Friday night. Do it all again. Do it all again. This Friday night."

Everyone began to burst into the song, singing along while they danced around half-drunk or at least pretending to be. "T.G.I.F. T.G.I.F. T.G.I.F." Artie was amongst one of the loudest with Nicky sitting on his lap as they both raised their glasses in the air. "T.G.I.F. T.G.I.F. T.G.I.F. WOOOO!"

"Last Friday night. Yeah, we danced on tabletops. And we took too many shots. Think we kissed but I forgot. Last Friday night. Yeah, we maxed our credit cards and got kicked out of the bar. So we hit the boulevard."

"Last Friday night. We went streaking in the park. Skinny dipping in the dark. Then had a ménage à trios. Last Friday night. Yeah I think we broke the law. Always say we're gonna stop. Whoa-oh-oah."

"Last Friday night. Yeah I think we broke the law. Always say we're gonna stop. Oh-whoa-oh. This Friday night. Do it all again."

Sam and Blaine bowed down, embracing the cheers that they got from their friends.

* * *

><p>The night was beginning to rapidly wind down as midnight had came and went. It was almost two o'clock so more then half of the party had already left. Pretty soon, the cleanup staff would have a lot of work to do when dawn reared its ugly head.<p>

As for Blaine, he planned on sleeping in until noon.

First things first, something just had to be done about those puppy dog eyes that Sam would watch Kurt from across the party with. It was becoming just downright ridiculous to Blaine as he stood there watching with Mika standing right next to him. They both couldn't understand why was Sam so unwilling to do anything about his "unrequited" love for one Kurt Hummel.

It was like one of those pathetically, cheesy romantic-comedies. Only this time, somebody would actually do something before the couple turned forty. And it looked like it would be up to the best friend and the ex-boyfriend to save the day. As awkward as that sounded that was just how it was going to work.

Mika grabbed the glass of water that Sam was holding in his hand. He then, shamelessly, threw it at a passed out Warbler. The boy looked back at Sam, pointing to Kurt who was talking to one of the Warblers, Wes.

"For the love all things holy, Samuel Evans," said Mika, "please talk to Kurt already."

"It's too soon," Sam said, stepping back. "I can't just jump on him. It's only been a few months since the Dave thing."

Blaine got behind Sam, pushing the blond headed teen along. "Seriously, Sam," said his best friend and mentor, "you'd better do something about Kurt. If you don't ask him out then I will jump on it and make him my boyfriend. Don't put me into that role." Blaine then, literally, kicked Sam in the ass with his expensive Dolche boots. "Go tell Kurt how you feel before we all go insane."

So with his ass properly kicked, Sam felt not choice but to go after Kurt at this point. Mika and Blaine were both out of the way when Sam turned to look back. He then went back to see where Kurt was standing, laughing at some joke that Wes told him. The tall, lean Asian was rather handsome and it almost made Sam's skin boil when he thought about that this guy would get to Kurt first.

Then he had to remind himself that Wes was very straight and dating a girl.

Sam went up to them and did the awkward cough to butt into a conversation. He quickly got both Kurt and Wes's attention onto him, which kind of looked bad all of a sudden.

However, Kurt was never one to judge his friend. The graduate turned back to Wes with a smile still on his face. "Well Wes, it was a pleasure talking to you," said Kurt. "I promise that I'll keep in touch, but I actually have to get ready to go home. Dad will go insane if I'm not home in an hour."

"Understandable," said Wes. "And do feel free to call or text whenever you feel like it, Kurt." The Asian turned to Sam, raising a glass up for his celebratory wine to Sam. "Great seeing you again too, Sam. You and Blaine totally killed that performance."

"Thanks man," Sam said, smirking at him.

When Wes was finally gone, Kurt focused onto Sam with a smile still on his porcelain face. Sam held his hand out to Kurt, which the boy accepted as they began to make their way out of the door. Sam had already promised to walk Kurt out earlier when he was ready to leave, making sure that he'd get to a cab in one piece.

The two of them walked towards the elevator, pausing when they saw the doors closed with the latest crowd going down. Sam felt that this was the perfect time to talk to Kurt while they waited for the elevator to come back for him.

Kurt remained oblivious to what Sam wanted to talk about as he sat down on the floor. Although, it was done a little unceremoniously, Kurt didn't seem to care as he took his shoes off for a moment. He rubbed his sore feet when he remembered just how rapidly his graduation was approaching.

"Seems like yesterday we were just kids," said Kurt, "playing Power Rangers on my front porch. I miss those days. They were so much simpler then things are now."

"Yeah, I miss them too," said Sam. The blond sat down right beside Kurt, sitting close to him. He kept his hands to himself though as he gulped and tried to figure out just how to tell Kurt how he felt. "We used to have a lot of fun back then." The continuous delay was bugging Sam a little, but he just couldn't bring himself to say those words.

Kurt had to nod his head in agreement once again with Sam. They sat there in silence for a while until the ding of the elevator finally let them know that it was back. Without wasting anymore time, they got up on their feet then went down to the ground floor. Sam hailed Kurt a taxi once they were outside, which was slowly coming up to them as it was finishing up with some unsavory customers.

Realizing that he didn't have much time left before Kurt took off; Sam finally decided to swallow his courage. Sam understood that it was now or never so it might as well be right now.

"Hey Kurt," said Sam, gaining the young man's attention. "There is something I have to tell you, something I've been keeping to myself for a while now."

The way that Sam spoke with did bring some concern to Kurt. His tone of voice meant that it was something serious so Kurt was all ears as he faced his best friend. "What's that, Sam?" asked Kurt. "Is there something wrong?"

"The only thing that's wrong is that I never told you this," said Sam. He walked up closer towards Kurt, while the cab was still wasn't there. He got Kurt's hand then pulled them up between them and held them there. "Kurt…I'm in love you with."

Kurt felt his mind going completely blank as he pulled his hands away from Sam. He had to have heard wrong, this wasn't happening to him. "What…what did you say, Sam?" asked Kurt. His mind had to be playing tricks on him. That couldn't have been what Sam had said.

That wasn't exactly the reaction that Sam had been hoping for, but it was probably the most reasonable now. No way that he could pretend that it didn't happen so Sam went all out with this. "I love you, Kurt," Sam repeated. "I've been in love with you since the day we met. Mika knew that I was so in love with you that there was no way that our relationship could continue. He broke up with me so that I could be with you."

Once again, his mind went completely blank for the moment. Then, the one thing that did come to him were the violent images of what happened with Dave. "You're joking," Kurt said as the cab got closer to them. He began to shiver as he remembered those brutal times. Even though he knew that Sam wasn't that kind of guy, it didn't shake off the fear that was growing inside of him. "You're kidding."

"I'm not," promised Sam. "Kurt, I love you with all my heart and soul. You have to know how much I love you."

"No," Kurt said, softly. "This can't be happening."

The young man shook his head as he began to back away from Sam as the cab had finally pulled up. He grabbed onto the door handle when he felt the tears running down his cheeks. Kurt took notice to Sam's eyes watering up and felt nothing but guilt for this, but it's just something that couldn't happen. Not now.

"Kurt," whispered Sam.

"I'm sorry, Sam," Kurt said, fighting tears. "I just can't do this. I just can't let this happen again. I can't deal with this right now. I'm so sorry."

Sam didn't even attempt to stop Kurt from leaving. He just felt his heartbreak as he had left himself completely exposed to the young man that he was love with get away from him.

Kurt slipped inside the cab, taking off back home. Kurt just couldn't help but feel the need to get as far away from it all as possible. He just couldn't deal with any thoughts on love, no matter how much he had been hoping to hear those words from Sam. Now that they were out in the open, Kurt just had to run away, run away as fast as he could.

For Sam, this heartbreaking moment left him in complete shock. He showed Kurt his heart only to have it thrown back at him.

Unlike the complete soul shattering that Sam felt when Artie was nearly killed, Sam didn't feel anything like that at all. He had no urge to give up on anything, he just…he just felt like he didn't care any longer. Knowing that Kurt wouldn't be sharing a future with him was just so painful to Sam that he had to block it out.

But he couldn't block it out, at least not yet. So Sam wandered back inside of the building and took the elevator up to the penthouse. Once he was back to the dying party, he crossed paths with both Blaine and Mika, whom he completely ignored.

Sam ignored everything as he went inside Blaine's room and threw himself down on the bed, letting the tears run down his face.

All while Kurt felt similar tears running like a river down his face.

* * *

><p>END!<p>

Songs: "Wishing you were somehow here again" Phantom of the Opera.

"My Hands" by Leona Lewis

"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" by Katy Perry

The next chapter, we shall journey to the future. A lot happens a year for Sam and company. The bigger players finally take action against Justice, while a completely new face drops in.


	11. Graduation Song

**Author's Note: **So, I've decided to shorten the story from 25 chapters to 20. I mostly decided to do this because I would've given you a lot of small updates and I figured that I could make chapters long and fuller by combining them. So there's that. Now, prepare for the big superhero parts to show up. From here on out, it's going to be a lot of mayhem for Sam and Kurt. That is all. NOW READ AND REVIEW! RIGHT NOW!

**Graduation Song: **

(Sam)

The one year anniversary of Justice had came and went for Sam. The day that he gave up his life to save someone that he loved and became reborn as a superhero was a memorable one for Sam. As a senior in high school, lead male vocalist for the New Directions, and quarterback of the football changed the young man. Also, having his heart burned by love did its part in helping Sam to grow into adulthood.

A wicked divided had pried Sam away from Kurt. Since his confession of love, the two had hardly seen each other. Kurt purposely avoided Sam, which didn't last long since his dad did win the election for state senator. Burt Hummel moved himself and his wife out of the old house, while Kurt briefly followed them before starting university in the fall. And Finn stayed around for a while too before following his football scholarship to Ohio State.

Kurt was still in the city, but with a population in the millions, it was hard for Sam to find the brunet anywhere. Only as Justice could Sam find Kurt as he was out on patrol. Without Kurt finding out, Sam would always watch over and save Kurt from the creeps that roamed the streets whenever possible. Nothing would ever happen to Kurt, Sam stayed constantly vigilant to make sure no criminals or Daves could get to him again.

But as Justice, a student, and a performer, Sam was greatly excelling. His life was starting to move along on track, one that he knew that he could be proud of. The stress that ate away at him last year was just a dream for him now. Crime had gone down from twenty percent to ten percent, all thanks to him.

His Guardian friend, Kai, also kept his eyes on the spiritual activity in the city. Sam had yet to fight against a creep like the one that crippled Artie, but Kai warned him it would only be a matter of time before another showed up. Sam thanked God for at least that much courtesy as he prayed to finish his last year of high school without too much trouble.

And it was all about to pay off to as Sam was about to graduate from high school.

First things first though, Sam had to worry about Nationals. He wanted to end his final year on a high note since him and a majority of the New Directions was graduating this year.

The guys and the girls joined together to belt out the first part of their performance. "Tarzan and Jane were swingin' on a vine. Candyman, Candyman. Sippin' from a bottle of vodka double wine."

Mercedes and Santana joined together to perform this particular number. It was their idea to spice up the show a bit when compared to last year. "Sweet sugar candy man," sang the duo

"I met him out for dinner on a Friday night. He really had me working up an appetite. He had tattoos up and down his arm. There's nothing more dangerous than a boy with charm. He's a one stop shop, makes the panties drop. He's a sweet-talkin', sugar coated candy man. A sweet-talkin', sugar coated candyman."

"Oh yeah. He took me to the Spider Club at Hollywood and Vine. We drank champagne and we danced all night. We shook the paparazzi for a big surprise. The gossip tonight will be tomorrow's headline."

The girls were united for the song, while the boys danced around them and swung them around the stage. Puck was leading their more aggressive pack with the girls holding back the urge as some of them were being flipped. "He's a one stop shop, makes my cherry pop. He's a sweet-talkin', sugar coated candy man. A sweet-talkin', sugar coated candyman. Se bop bop. Hey yeah..."

"He's a one stop shop, makes my cherry pop. He's a sweet-talkin', sugar coated candy man oh. A sweet-talkin', sugar coated candyman. Woo yeah!"

"Well by now I'm getting all bothered and hot. When he kissed my mouth he really hit the spot. He had lips like sugar cane. Good things come to boys who wait."

"Tarzan and Jane were swingin' on a vine. Candy man, candy man. Sipping from a bottle of vodka double wine. Candy man, candy man."

Mercedes and Santana joined together at the front of the stage, tilting their small hats while swinging their hips. "Sweet sugar candy man. He's a one stop, gotcha hot, making all the panties drop. Sweet sugar candy man. He's a one stop, got me hot, making my uh pop. Sweet sugar candy man. He's a one stop, get it while it's hot, baby don't stop. Sweet sugar."

"He got those lips like sugar cane. Good things come for boys who wait."

"He's a one stop shop with a real big uh. He's a sweet-talkin', sugar coated candyman. He's a sweet-talkin', sugar coated candyman. He's a sweet-talkin', sugar coated candyman."

The guy briefly took over as they clapped together, while the girls danced to claim the full attention. "Tarzan and Jane were swingin' on a vine. Sippin' from a bottle of vodka double wine. Jane lost her grip and a-down she fell_._ Squared herself away as she let out a yell."

However, this was only the beginning.

Sam loosened his tie as he broke away from the rest of the guys. He stood in the middle of all the girls with Nicky and Quinn ruffling up his hair a bit. "Oh, yeah," sang Sam. "Oh!"

The blond claimed the vocal attention as he danced past Artie to jump towards Tina to claim her hand from Mike. "Just shoot for the stars. If it feels right," sang Sam "And aim for my heart if you feel like. And take me away and make it OK, I swear I'll behave."

Artie, Mika, and Stevie whistled along to the beat as they jumped behind Sam.

"You wanted control. So we waited. I put on a show. Now I make it. You say I'm a kid. My ego is big. I don't give a dang. And it goes like this."

Puck and their newcomer, Damien, joined Sam towards the middle of the stage. "Take me by the tongue. And I'll know you." Puck and Damien blew kisses to Quinn and Nicky, who pretended to fan themselves in excitement. "Kiss me 'til you're drunk. And I'll show you. All the moves like Jagger. I've got the moves like Jagger. I've got the moves like Jagger."

"I don't need to try to control you. Look into my eyes and I'll own you with them moves like Jagger. I've got the moves like Jagger. I've got the moves like Jagger."

"Maybe it's hard. When you feel like you're broken and scarred. Nothing feels right. But when you're with me I'll make you believe that I've got the key."

"Oh, so get in the car. We can ride it wherever you want. Get inside it and you want to steer but I'm shifting gears. I'll take it from here, oh! Yeah yeah! And it goes like this, uh!"

"Take me by the tongue. And I'll know you, uh. Kiss me 'til you're drunk. And I'll show you, uh. All the moves like Jagger. I've got the moves like Jagger. I've got the moves like Jagger."

"I don't need to try to control you, oh yeah. Look into my eyes and I'll own you with them moves like Jagger. I've got the moves like Jagger, yeah yeah. I've got the moves like Jagger."

Santana pushed away from Mike and Puck who were dancing around her. She ran her hands through her hair, allowing everyone to get a good look at her. "You wanna know how to make me smile. Take control, own me just for the night. And if I share my secret you're gonna have to keep it." She held her fingers up to her lips and gave out a soft 'sh' to prove her point. "Nobody else can see this."

"So watch and learn. I won't show you twice. Head to toe, oooh baby rub me right. But if I share my secret you're gonna have to keep it." Brittany and Tina this time were the ones to join her, while Santana grabbed Sam by the shirt. "Nobody else can see this. Ay! Ay! Ay! Aaay!"

Sam leaned a little forward with his face very close to Santana. "And it goes like this," sang the duo.

For this verse, Sam and Santana joined their vocals together to rip the auditorium a new roof while the rest of New Directions went crazy in dance. "Take me by the tongue, take me by the tongue. And I'll know you. Kiss me 'til you're drunk." Sam and Santana were in perfect sync with each other after all the many hours of practice that led to this. "And I'll show you, yeah yeah yeah!"

"All the moves like Jagger. I've got the moves like Jagger. I've got the moves like Jagger, oh, yeah. I don't need to try to control you."

"Look into my eyes and I'll own you with them moves like Jagger. I've got the moves like Jagger. I've got the moves like Jagger."

The New Directions ceased dancing as their performance had finally come to an end. The thunderous applause told the teens that they had done really well for themselves. Hopefully, it would be enough to keep them amongst the top performers in the national show choir rankings.

When the final verdict came in later that day, their hard work didn't go unnoticed. It was completely unexpected, but the New Directions were declared the champions at Nationals. First place went to the students from the Academy of the City. The members of New Directions went completely wild as Puck and Mike got hold of the trophy. Sam, Santana, and Mercedes pulled each other into a massive threesome hug, while everyone else was getting into these group hugs as well.

This remarkable moment couldn't have come at a better time.

* * *

><p>(Drake)<p>

On the top floor of Valentine Industries, a new plot was about to come to storm.

The expansion of the company was the most important thing in the world to Drake Valentine. Both sides of the company needed to be taken care of. Their contracting work needed to flourish so that they could continue work on their weapons' programs. Also, the fear and intimidation needed to be in place for the criminal world to idolize him.

The criminal kingpin of the northeast resided at the center of the world, New York City.

Seeking out growth in his establishment, Drake worried about the fate of his empire as he brought his sons into his office. The boys that he had spent so much time and effort grooming to become the perfect heirs to his kingdom were all present. Well, at least the ones that Drake was really concerned with were there. His youngest son would only be a liability if he was directly involved in the inner workings of the company.

Mika was too much like his sister, Melinda, they were both too weak-spirited. They couldn't handle the pressures of being a big dog. As for the triplets, they had the potential to reap the most rewards.

Drake Valentine stood at an impressive six-three. Underneath his well-tailored suit was a body made of pure muscle. He easily towered over his sons both in height and physical mass. His dark brown eyes, flawless head of black hair, square jaw-line, and sharp cheekbones gave this man a devilish charm.

Miguel, Mason, and Magnus were the near perfect replicas of their father. They each stood at six foot with most of their bodies composed of pure muscle. They each had dark black hair that was cut in a similar fashion, short and sharp. Each one dressed in a similarly, tailored suit that was outrageously expensive. They carried many of the same facial features. The only difference was their eyes; they inherited their mother's lighter shade of gray irises.

"Now, I expect you, boys, to become more active in the company," explained their father. He paced around the three of them with his eyes ever watchful on them. Drake wanted to make his point clear what he expected and needed his sons to accomplish. "Mason and Miguel, the full control of the company will be at your disposal one day." This attention was directed to the eldest (Mason) and the youngest (Miguel). "I trust you not to crash it into the ground." Drake then turned his eyes onto his middle son, the darker, more vindictive one. "As for you, Magnus, I expect you to handle the dirtier aspects of the job. The world of crime is your strong suit; I believe that you can one day handle being the next kingpin."

"We won't let you down, father," said Magnus.

Drake began to smirk as he held back the urge to laugh. He adjusted the coat of his suit before walking back to his desk, looking out to the view of Manhattan. "Of course you wouldn't," said their father. "Failure is never an option for us. Now, boys, get out of my office and send your brother in."

The Valentine triples said their farewells to their father before scurrying out of their. Not before they sent word to their brother that he needed to be seen in the office.

Entering the office without a moment's hesitation, as he knew better, Mika showed up to greet his father. The boy dressed appropriately for his visit in a suit that was tailored to fit his perfectly, petite physique.

"You wanted to see me, father," said Mika.

Drake turned back with a light smile gracing his face. This intimidating man had his hands clasped over his chest, while he reclined back on his chair. "I certainly did, baby boy," said his father. "Jensen told me that your club got first place at Nationals. Good work. All that artsy shit that you do actually helps on the family keeping up with appearances."

Mika nodded his head, knowing that this was as best as the compliments could get. There was no real love between father and his children. After all these years, Mika was well aware of that. The only ones he knew truly held any real affection was his mother and sister, and one of them was buried six feet deep.

"We all have a role to play in the family," Mika said, perfectly rehearsed. "I'm just happy to do my part. With any luck, the triplets won't throw me out into the streets when you pass away."

A light laugh escaped Drake's throat as he stood from his desk. This mighty man approached his youngest, grabbing the boy by his shoulders. "You don't have to worry that pretty face of yours about that," said Drake. "My baby boy is protected. Your brothers won't be able to do a damn thing to you. I've ensured enough protection for you and besides, those boys fear that I'll return from the grave if they fuck up in any way."

Mika pretended to find his father amusing as he stared the man into those eyes. His father's dark brown eyes were the most terrifying thing in his world to Mika; they always had been since he was a child. "Then I should thank my father for being such a caring man," said the boy. "Now father, I have to go to school. I wouldn't want to be late for my last week of class."

"No you wouldn't," said Drake. He pulled away from his son, walking towards the door to let him out. "We Valentines are thieves, heartless bastards, and devils, but the thing we are not is tardy. Have a good day at school, Mika."

"Thank you father," Mika said as he walked out of the office.

Once he was out of sight, Mika let out a sigh of relief. His conversations with his father normally didn't turn out that peaceful.

Drake Valentine was in a good mood, however, so that was reason enough to be merciful to his children for today.

* * *

><p>(Blaine)<p>

Sitting on the wooden floor that belonged to the Guardian, Blaine mindlessly watched the violence that took place. Kai and Sam were going over their weekly sparring match. The two were going blow for blow as usual with the intent on Kai making Sam a stronger warrior. The Guardian felt that Sam still was nowhere near close enough to face off against the dark forces that were brewing in the city.

As for Blaine, well, he didn't exactly have anything better to do. He just finished his freshman year at Columbia University with high marks. Getting on the Dean's List was no trouble at all for him, but the fact that he was always bored was one.

Watching Sam and Kai kick each other's asses did help to keep rich boy entertained. Violence was always a good thing, which is what kept Blaine fairly mellow during these boring days were he had nothing else to do with his free time.

Plus, Blaine had the right to annoy the hell out of Sam for winning Nationals. He was proud of his young protégé for getting such a high honor. Then there was to consider Sam's failure to have gotten any luck when it came to love since the Kurt thing back at the graduation party.

But that was something that Blaine refused to bring up for Sam's emotional sake.

"I still don't get it," Blaine said, over the punches. "Kai, how come you can't slap Sam around like a little bitch? Why does he always put more bruises on your body?"

Kai jumped away from an incoming punch, perfectly. He slid across the slick ground with a soft smirk on his face before turning towards Blaine. "There's a reasonable explanation for that," said Kai. "I don't have superhuman strength. Guardians have peak-human strength, while Sam has an almost godly-strength."

"Sounds lame," said Blaine.

Sam rolled his eyes at his dear friend before jumping after Kai. He threw a few punches at the Guardian, which the Asian managed to get away from without any trouble at all. Kai dodged an incoming kick, but barely handled avoiding get kicked in the face with the full force of the Spirit-Warrior. Sam tried to rotate his weight around to hit Kai, but the Guardian tucked himself back with the leg flying right above his body.

This sudden stunt made Blaine pick his head up like a dog getting a bone. His eyes sparkled as well when he suddenly saw Sam catch Kai off his guard. The blond elbowed the Guardian in the ribs before flipping him into the air, throwing him towards the empty couch.

Kai landed on the couch with the force of the attack plus his bodyweight pushing the couch across the floor. Blaine let out a soft whistle, seeing not a single scratch tore up the wooden floor. So where the Guardian got his pride wounded, at least his security deposit wasn't jacked up.

"Bravo!" Blaine said, cheerfully.

Sam was breathing heavily as he shook his head at his friend. He tore off his muscle tee, letting his sweaty muscles glisten against the twilight. "You know, Blaine," said Sam, "I don't know why I'm friends with you sometimes. You're a little annoying."

"Isn't that what you love about me?" replied his friend.

"Oddly enough that's true," laughed Sam.

Kai got up from the couch and let out a deep sigh as he decided to end the lesson for today.

* * *

><p>(Unknown)<p>

At long last, everything was finally coming together. After a year of waiting, it had finally happened. The body that he so desperately sought to attain was finally his. Now, he had the power that he needed to move forward with all of his plans.

He stared at his reflection against a broken mirror. His skin was horrifically pale with gray hair that was paling into a silverish manner. His ears were perfectly pointed into an elven manner with his eyes big and hazel-irises.

The body of his manly form wasn't exactly what he had originally wanted. He didn't have a hulking physique. This body was thin, but it was built with lean, toned muscle that he could respect. His body was strong enough to sustain him and the dark powers that he would use to flood the city when he had the chance.

But first, clothes were a major necessity.

The spirit looked down to the ground where the body of the dead businessman laid before him. He had killed this old stockbroker because of the similar body type and the fact that he just plain liked the clothes that he wore. It didn't exactly hurt that the dead man already had a corrupt spirit from all the dirty dealings that he performed on Wall Street.

It was almost poetic justice, in a twisted sense. It wasn't what he should be doing, considering that he belonged to the side of malice and not virtue.

"Oh well, the damage is done," said the fallen spirit. "At least his clothes will be more useful then his actual life."

Making some progress with that, the spirit stripped the body of its clothes. He dressed himself properly into the suit before hurling a fireball at the body so that nothing would remain but a pile of ash.

"And now the real fun begins," laughed the spirit.

* * *

><p>(Stevie)<p>

In the choir room at Academy of the city, the members of the New Directions gathered for their final hooray. Today was graduation day and a majority of the members were clearing out, leaving behind only four gleeks and Mr. Schuster. At least they were able to end on a high note, they won first place at Nationals so that was all that mattered.

Mr. Schuster held up the glass of Welch's non-alcoholic cocktails. The club took the liberty of raising their glasses up as well, knowing that some speech was prepared.

Stevie happily raised his glass up, smiling with the rest of the club. He hadn't expected to be here, but seeing how happy Sam was in glee club it had motivated him to join. That was part of the reason why he applied to the Academy; the other reason was that he wanted to spend time with Sam before he graduated.

Sam had his arm around Stevie's shoulder, pulling his brother against the letterman that he wore. Stevie tried to break free from his brother's grip without dropping his glass in the process.

"Well guys, this has been an amazing ride," said Mr. Schuster. "It took four years, but we made it to the top. We got first place in Nationals. Glee club is saved. And now nothing is standing in our way from staying on top but maintaining that level of talent."

"Too bad only a few of us will be left," said Tina. "If you guys can't get the numbers up then glee club ends with us."

Nicky shook her head as she pried herself away from Artie's lap. "As co-president, I won't allow that to happen," she said, happily. "Mika and I have already gotten four kids committed into signing up next year."

"That's right," Mika said, raising his glass higher up. "Don't you guys worry about us! We wont disappoint you."

"I'm holding you to that promise, Valentine," said Puck.

Before anyone could throw out some fighting words, Mr. Schuster reclaimed some order in the club. Everyone turned their attention back onto their teacher for, the majority of them, was the last speech that they'd have to hear.

"I'm glad to have gotten to know all of you," said their teacher. "You've all grown into a remarkable group of individuals. I have high hopes for all of you making it out there in the real world. I believe that each and everyone of you can make your dreams come true."

"Even the one where I fly to the moon on a unicorn?" asked Brittany.

"Okay, maybe not that one," said Mr. Schuster, "but the other ones should be clear."

"To the New Directions!" said Mercedes.

"The New Directions!" cheered the other gleeks.

Their glasses clinked together with the teens and their teacher letting out a loud, group cheer.

At the end of their party, Sam and Stevie ran out of the building like every other student in school. The final bell had rung, letting the students run wild for summer vacation. Stevie was free from books for the next couple of months as Sam was about to get his diploma and enter into the real world.

The Evans brothers ran towards the subway, arms locked together as they screamed at the top of their lungs. Like total idiots they acted, which got local passersby to look at them funny. Neither one seemed to care, however, so they kept on keeping on. Whatever that meant, Stevie just heard that on some TV show.

Sam dragged his brother into the subway and the both of the collapsed onto their seats. The graduate sat comfortably with his arms spread out and legs taking up all the room that he could in the empty cart. Stevie had his legs on the seat with his back leaning against Sam's side.

"Pizza at Gino's?" asked Sam.

"Extra large mushroom and sausage?" suggested Stevie.

"Hell to the yes," said Sam.

"Then we shall!" cheered Stevie.

The brothers laughed as they got off at the next stop to get an early dinner in them before the graduation ceremony that night.

* * *

><p>(Ayla)<p>

Alone in the middle of Times Square, she looked around town to find herself in her new surroundings. She kept mostly silent, ignoring the crowd that eyed her with some caution. This wasn't usual tourist hours and she wasn't exactly dressed like one too. She dressed more like a stone-cold killer.

Dangerous and beautiful that's what made her so affective at what she did. Her caramel colored curls bounced about with her deep-emerald eyes scanned the area around her with a great deal of care. She wore a lot of leather: leather jacket, leather boots, and a leather skirt. Her jacket was half-zipped with part of her chest exposed and her bra stinking out a little.

The mocha skin of the young woman gazed upon the massive buildings with a great deal of interest. She found New York City to be a little more amusing then she had originally anticipated.

"Well, this place certainly isn't anything like Istanbul," said the young woman. Her lightly, thick accent made it obvious that she wasn't from the States. She was foreign, exotic to be more exact in a city where no one was who you thought they were. "I could get used to this concrete jungle though. At least it beats being stuck in that heat or smelling some of those poorer areas. "

Ayla continued her lonely walk in the city and spotted a few things that made her senses tingle. For a normal person this could either be the restaurants, the buildings, or the stores. However, Ayla wasn't a normal person, she certainly wasn't a normal woman that's for certain.

She was different than any of the other girls in the city. She was among the few and the courageous. Her kind hunted the things that went bump in the night, slaughtering the creatures that preyed upon the humans.

Her killer instincts granted her powers beyond a normal person, which included a gift of sight. She couldn't see into the future, but she could sense things were far from being right in this city. A shit storm was about to hit and it was going to hit very hard as everything was about to change.

The thing that was significantly interesting too her was the weakness in the veil. All of the cracks that maintained order for the world were cracking at the seams. Something very powerful was stirring in New York and anybody who could sense this obviously could tell something that was wrong.

"The spirits are about to run wild," said Ayla. "It looks like this huntress needs to set up shop and kick a little ass. It's time to show this city and these fucking spirits who the real boss is."

And with that said, Ayla was about to get ready to have a little fun in the "greatest city" in the world.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

Graduation managed to went off without a hitch derailing it. Sam didn't trip off the stage, nobody decided to go streaking, and nobody tried to make out with the principal. At least not during the ceremony, what happened afterwards was a different story.

Not that Sam really cared about that since he had his diploma now. He was grinning from ear to ear as he sat in the back of the truck with his brother, while his mom and uncle were at the front. His mother and uncle continued to go on about how proud of him they were as Stevie kicked him for half of the ride. Sam always kicked back, but he had to play down the strength so not to break his brother's leg.

"I'm so proud of you, sweetie," cried his mother. "My little boy is all grown up now. Off to college soon, leaving his poor momma behind."

"Mom, I'm going to trade school," laughed Sam. "You're acting like I'm taking off to Oxford."

"What am I then?" Stevie asked, leaning towards his mother's seat. "I'm the youngest? Shouldn't I fall under some special category?"

"Oh, Stevie," said his mother, "you're my baby and you always will be."

"Uh huh," Stevie said, sitting back against his seat.

"Don't worry, kid," said Uncle Sam. "You'll always be my favorite."

"At least someone loves me," said Stevie.

"You're more trouble then you're worth, brat," said Sam.

The boys went at it for a while before finally quieting down a couple of notches. This made the rest of the ride home a little more comfortable.

So when the Evans clan finally made it home, Sam grabbed his cap and gown to walk towards the kitchen entrance when he noticed something up front. He handed his stuff over to Stevie as he went out to see who was there. Uncle Sam told Sam to get back since the cop brain took over. Sam waited for his uncle to return and when he did there was someone standing beside him.

Sam felt his entire body tense up when he recognized the face of Kurt. It had been over a year since they've seen each other, but there was no denying this. Sam's mind wasn't playing tricks on him.

His uncle and the rest of his family went inside the house, giving them both some space.

Kurt had a soft smile on his face as he walked closer towards Sam. He stopped once he was in arm's length, choosing to stand underneath the light bulb. "Congratulations," Kurt practically whispered. "I heard that you guys got first place at Nationals."

"Yeah," Sam said, staring at Kurt. "It was great."

His former neighbor nodded his head before running his hand through his hair. It was a little shorter then Sam remembered, but this was a good look for Kurt. Instead of having his hair passed his ears and halfway down his neck, he cleaned it up a little. But Kurt still had some cute bangs that made his face look a little fuller with warmth and life.

Sam looked down to the ground for a moment, kicking a stray walk aside. "You never returned any of my calls or texts," said Sam.

"I'm sorry," Kurt said, wrapping his arms over his stomach. "I just…I just couldn't talk to you. I got so scared."

"Why?" asked Sam.

"Because I didn't want what happened with me and Dave to happen again," Kurt said, softly. The young man let out a deep sigh, closing his eyes as he forced himself to speak. It hurt to say that evil name, but it had to be done because he owed Sam a damn good explanation. "Sam…I've loved you since I was a kid too, but I just thought I'd never have a chance with you so I forced myself to move on."

Kurt looked Sam straight into the eyes as he walked closer towards him. "After everything that happened, I just go so scared that history could repeat itself," said Kurt. "Dave said he loved me and things were good at first, but you know how that all ended. He hit and raped me, claiming that it was all love. I couldn't just let that cycle repeat itself with you. I was too scared to tell you that I love you too last year because the whole thought of making myself to vulnerable to someone like that was too much to bare."

Sam nodded his head, realizing that this was exactly what he should've thought of. He was too stupid to think that it was all about him. He should've realized how much pain that Kurt had gone through that it could've easily damaged the young man's mentality. How selfish was he? But just hearing those words that Kurt loved him too made his heart flutter around his chest.

"I can't stay away any longer though," continued Kurt. "Sam, this whole year of avoiding you sucked! It's been eating away at me, I thought I could just forget but it doesn't work that like." Without any hesitation, Kurt wrapped his arms around Sam's waist. He locked his arms around him as he pressed himself into a hug against Sam with tears running down his face. "I love you way too much, Sam, to stay away. Life without you is not a life I can continue to live."

"Don't finish that thought," Sam whispered. He wrapped his arms around Kurt's arms and back, locking him firmly in place. He pressed his full body against Kurt's warmth, holding him closely as he looked him straight in the eye. "Let's pretend that this year never happened. I love you, Kurt Hummel. I feel in love with you the first day that I met you. I'll never hurt you, not in a million years. Give me the chance to prove that too you."

"Samuel Evans, I've known that you'd never hurt me from the first day I met you."

This brought a smile onto both of their faces as, slowly, they brought their faces together until they met with a kiss. The moment that their lips touched, they both felt the truest emotions that a human being could possibly feel.

What they felt was love, true love bringing them both together. The gaping hole that had been eating away at both of their souls was no longer there. It had been patched over, erased from history, when they gave one another their love.

And with one kiss, Sam and Kurt gave themselves to one another fully and unconditionally.

* * *

><p>(Unknown)<p>

"Excuse me, sir, but you can't be here without an appointment!" shouted a secretary.

The spirit bore a soft smirk on his face as he walked past her, ignoring her very existence as he had one objective in mind. He was sharply dressed for a damn good reason; he had a job that he wanted to accomplish. Correction, he had a job that he needed to have an interview for, one that would push all his plans forward.

What the spirit sought was a business partner. He needed someone that knew the ins and outs of the dirtier side of human civilization. That someone had to be able to strike fear in the hearts of men, willing to do the unthinkable in order to gain what he wanted. This was the motivating qualification that the spirit needed in an associate.

And who better to work with then the Kingpin of the Northeast?

The spirit could already hear a conversation going on behind a pair of double doors. The doors were sealed shut, but that wouldn't stop him from getting inside. First though, he'd like to hear what this future partner of his had to say.

"Convince the Italians to fall in line," said Drake Valentine. "I want you to kidnap Mussolini's daughter that will show him that he cannot escape me. And make sure that the men know she isn't to be physical harmed, that includes sexually. We might be criminals, but that doesn't mean we can't be just a little civilized. Get that done for me, Jensen."

"Yes sir," said his assistant.

The doors opened up just as the spirit crossed the threshold. A skinny, young man with blond hair gelled back and glasses over his meek eyes found himself facing the spirit. Jensen was initially shocked by this spirit's appearance since he knew that Drake had no appointments set up at this time neither as an executive or as the kingpin.

Jensen pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose while letting out a light cough. "Excuse me, sir," said the assistant. "What are you doing here? This floor is for restricted personnel only and those with an appointment."

"Pencil me in, Jensen," said the spirit. "I need to have a word with Mr. Valentine."

The spirit strolled past the young man as he went off to call on security. The spirit didn't exactly give a damn as he entered the office of the kingpin.

It certainly didn't seem like what belonged to an upfront criminal overlord. It was pretty much standard New York executive. There were gigantic windows that had a spectacular view of the city, a massive desk, a full bar, and some other forms of senseless decoration.

"Remind me not to hire your decorator for my office," said the spirit. "This place is downright atrocious."

Drake stood up from his chair with a gun in hand. He held it up, pointing it at the spirit with his eyes boiling with anger. "Who the fuck are you?" asked the kingpin. "What the fuck do you think you're doing in my office?"

The spirit clicked his tongue at the man before he waved his hand to the side. A psychic force ripped the gun out of Drake's hand, tossing it carelessly across the room right when Drake was about to take off the safety.

"Let's not play with guns, Mr. Valentine," said the spirit. "I'm not here to get on your bad side." The spirit crossed the office, making his way over to the bar. He grabbed a bottle of brandy then proceeded to pour himself a glass. "Actually, I'm here to offer my services to you."

"Why would I want you working for me?" Drake asked, still trying to puzzle this together. What this man did was not natural in his books. The kingpin couldn't understand how he was able to rip that gun from his hand.

The spirit took a sip of the brandy, savoring the rough flavor of it on his tongue. His eyes were closed when he heard footsteps behind him. Security had finally decided to show up; two overly muscular men had guns pointed at him.

So rude, thought the spirit. He finished the rest of his brandy before snapping his fingers, causing their guns to float out from their hands. He then turned around and continued to have the guns float in the air to the surprise of Drake, security, and Jensen.

"Bang," said the spirit.

The triggers were pulled, shooting the men in the head. The fatal shot brought security down to the ground were their blood began to paint the carpet.

"That's going to leave a stain," said the spirit. He let out a soft breath with the bodies and the blood vanishing from sight. Drake and Jensen were both wide eyed of this as the spirit returned to the bar. "Now that we have that taken care of, we can return to what I was saying before. You and I, Mr. Valentine, need to join forces. We have to form a partnership in order to advance in this world. Your technological and financial resources in exchange for my magical abilities, does that sound like a fair trade?"

Drake gulped as he continued to try and piece everything together. His hand was shaking as he felt scared shitless of this freak, but paid attention to what the spirit said. "What do I get out of this?" asked the kingpin. "Why should I work with you?"

"Because I'll make you wealthy and more powerful than you ever thought humanly possible," said the spirit. "So do we have a deal?"

"Yes," Drake said without hesitation. "What am I supposed to call you, partner?"

"My name is Orsino," said the spirit. "Now Drake, you and I have a lot of work that we need to accomplish. This will be a very productive year for the both of us."

Orsino was smiling as he sat down by Drake's desk, ushering the kingpin and his assistant to take a seat as well.

* * *

><p>Songs:<p>

"Candyman" by Christina Aguileria.

"Move like Jagger" by Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguileria.


	12. She Hunts at Night

**Author's Note: **I don't have much to say other then I better get some reviews out of you kids or else I'm gonna go psycho! That is all. READ AND REVIEW!

P.S. LEMON ALERT!

**She Hunts at Night:**

(Sam)

Life was so beautiful to him now. Everything was just so perfect, magnificent even. The world was full of color again, life had meaning for him once more, and it was all thanks to the wonder that being with true love brought.

Kurt coming back into his life was the best thing that could've ever happened to Sam. It was amazing enough to have his former neighbor and first love back in his life, but now that he knew that Kurt loved him too just topped the cake. Being able to openly express his love and devotion to him was what made Sam's outlook on the world brighten to a remarkable level.

Sam felt more at peace with himself now then he ever had before. All of this excitement was probably going a little overboard, but Sam just couldn't help himself. He was madly in love, it was summertime, he was done with high school, and the city was relatively peaceful. There was plenty of reason for him to be as happy as he was right now. He had plenty of justification for being this obsessive puppy that was so consumed by the love he had for one Kurt Hummel.

And, at long last, the feelings were finally mutual.

Kurt returned every last bit of affection with as much gusto as Sam did. Their first month together, no labels were placed on their relationship other then the complete openness of how much they loved one another. It was a goal of theirs to try and take things slow since Kurt was still mending himself after everything that had happened with Dave, even though it had been years ago.

Battered hearts took time to heal and Sam was willing to take all the time in the world. Now that he had Kurt in his arms, he wouldn't do a damn thing that could lead to him pushing away. This was also part of the reason why Sam kept the whole Justice thing a secret from Kurt. It wouldn't be fare to drag Kurt into that world when they were both aligning themselves in a good place where they could both be happy.

"I love you," said Kurt.

"And I love you too," said Sam.

The two of them found themselves in Central Park after spending the day just walking around the city. They did the whole dorky, couple thing. They ran up and down streets, rode the subway, and ate from random food venders all while holding each other's hands. Kurt even tried to convince Sam to sing while they did all of this, but that was a level that Sam refused to cross.

Now, they were both sprawled out on the fresh grass. The scent of nature in the middle of a concrete jungle was a warm welcome for them both. Seeing all the people interacting on this beautiful day did bring a remarkable amount of peace to them as they lay beside each other.

The young men were on their sides, staring into each other's eyes with smiles on their faces. They had their fingers interlocked as the sun shinned down on them during this blissful afternoon.

Kurt giggled as Sam rubbed his nose against him. Sam gave Kurt some sweet, Eskimo kisses, which were so not what Kurt expected from such a big, strong, country boy. But, then again, that was just how Sam was programmed. Nothing that Sam did was expected, he was defiant of all logic, and it was like he came from another world.

Nobody else could come to mind who was as sweet, honest, loyal, affectionate, handsome, loving, and any other positive adjective as Samuel Evans. Kurt totally understood that he found himself a keeper. He'd be a fool to run off right now, pushing himself away from Sam like he had done a year ago.

That would never happen though. Kurt was at peace with himself when it came to the darker part of his life.

Now he could bathe himself in the light that belonged to Sam.

"Why must you be so amazing?" Kurt asked, rolling on top of Sam.

The blond-headed teen let out a deep grunt when Kurt threw his full weight on him. He locked his arms around the lither teen's waist, keeping him close. "That's a good question," said Sam. "I'll find an answer to that when you explain to my why you are so beautiful."

Kurt smiled as he kissed Sam on the cheek. He pulled his lips away from him and briefly looked out the corner of his eyes, letting out a dramatic sigh. "Darling, I was just born this way," said Kurt. The young man let out a loud laugh, which was returned with an equal amount of joy by Sam.

"Cocky little thing, you are," said Sam.

Kurt only nodded his head before leaning forward once more to kiss Sam.

* * *

><p>(Ayla)<p>

Somebody really needed to clean up all this mess, thought the huntress.

It was late, so late that dawn was about to make its rise in the sky. Ayla looked out the broken window were a dead body was hanging out to see the sun just about to peak out from the sky. She cleaned the blood off the knife that she wielded before inserting it back in its sheath that was strapped to her leg.

With that done, it was time to make her exit before anyone saw her. Ayla made her way to the right where the door that she came in through was.

As she crossed the dirty floor, she passed the bodies of the men that she killed. Every last one of them more wicked then the last so their blood left a horrid stench in the air. Their taint had already left its mark so even with their deaths their legacy would continue to affect the world that they were no longer part of.

"Too late again," said Ayla. "They're moving around too quickly. All this taint will spread to the rest of the city if I don't find its fucking source!"

The young huntress was annoyed with the progress she was making in New York. Since her arrival, she's been hunting the corruption that's making its move all around the city. With each day that passed, it was becoming harder for her to find out what was responsible for all of this mess.

Usually, she wouldn't care so much about tracking down the source. Her job was specifically to kill anything that went bump in the dark, but this was something different. The job that she had gotten herself involved in was taking her down some interesting twists and turns that made her second guess the situation.

From all her training, Ayla was well aware that something higher up on the spiritual food chain was manipulating the situation. The natural negative energy that the city held was being pushed towards the boiling point by some unknown entity. No doubt, a very evil and a very malevolent spirit was behind all of this.

Since there was nobody else up for the job, it was up to Ayla to track this spirit down and slay it.

"Why the hell I allowed myself to get dragged into this job is beyond me," hissed Ayla. She made it out of the apartment building without drawing any attention to herself. Taking the rooftop exit, the huntress ran out of there and leaped towards the nearest building to make her escape. "I could've gone to Japan or Taiwan, but no, I wanted New York. This job is worth the money that they threw at me. I better called the Society and tell them I want double the pay."

After putting up what seemed like enough distance, Ayla dived to the ground and stuck the perfect landing. She landed on her feet without any injury to herself thanks to the certain enhancements that belonged to her kind.

Turning back, she spotted the building that was soiled with blood. It would seem like a typical apartment complex at first glance, but it was far from being that. Living inside one of the apartments were some downright, despicable men who cheated and killed innocent people. Their sins tainted their souls to the very point where vile spirits were able to take possession of them.

It all ended in tragedy as all the innocent tenants were killed, every single man, woman, and child. The possessed men slaughtered them like pigs. Their innocent blood stained the walls of the building to the point where there would be no salvaging it.

Ayla tracked the men down and killed them, but it would do nothing to save the building. She knew that only fire could cleanse this mess and it would require the building to be burnt to the ground. That was the only way to purify the ground of the taint and allow the innocent souls a peaceful ascension to the afterlife.

Knowing it would be difficult for such a thing to happen in the city, she had to be a little more creative.

The huntress pulled out a cigarette from her jacket and her trusty lighter. She lit herself up a smoke just as the apartment building blew up in smoke and fire. Before she made her exit, she turned up every bit of gas that she could, leaving behind a ticking firebomb. It went off after giving her plenty of time to escape as well as disposing of any evidence that would lead back to her.

With one job complete, it was time to move onto her next task. As the smoke rose up to the sky, Ayla took in a deep breath of her nicotine to relax herself to get into the right state of mind. There was still a lot for her to do in the city. A lot of bad spirits were running amuck with big daddy holding onto their leashes, itching to let them run wild.

The miserable bastards and bitches of New York would be screwed without her around. Still, Ayla was well aware that this would be a difficult job since the city was so large and this particular spirit had to be extremely powerful. As much as it pained her to admit, it would be a good idea to get herself some backup to help fight.

But there in was her problem. The Society would make it far too difficult for her to get any help so they were crossed off the list. If Ayla wanted some help in all of this then she would have to get very creative in her search for assistance.

"Again, why the hell did I agree to take this job?" she said to herself.

The huntress tossed her cigarette to the ground just as a fire truck drove past her, rushing to the burning apartments.

* * *

><p>(Orsino)<p>

The beautiful partnership that spawned from the spirit and the criminal kingpin was truly beneficial for them both. By displaying his efficacy in the Dark Arts, Orsino assured himself a position alongside the kingpin. With this position, Orsino was able to pull lesser spirits from the netherworld into the human world for the sole purpose of possession. Slowly, the vengeful spirit was building up his army to help open the doorway.

But those plans were slowly derailing before him.

Orsino watched the human news, both televised and the papers. Reports were constantly coming in about vicious attacks on the criminals of the city; the "victims" were all Kingpin's crooks who were possessed by the spirits that Orsino forced into them. By the damage done to them, Orsino could clearly tell that somebody was purposely hunting them.

Drake Valentine threw his newspaper on the table as he let out a frustrated growl. On the front page was the report of a building that had been burnt to the ground with all the tenants killed prior to the incinerating blaze.

"Things were bad enough with Justice putting my men in prison," said Kingpin, "but now somebody is actually killing my men. Who the fuck has the balls to do such a thing? If it's that Justice bastard then I swear to God that I'll cut his throat out myself."

As the Kingpin was about to explode with fury, Orsino called the man to calm down. He forced his business partner to sit back down in his chair as the spirit approached the windows. "I highly doubt that Justice is behind this," said Orsino. "This isn't his game." That much was certain despite the weapon that was plunged into his gut by the brat over a year ago. Orsino had his eyes set on Justice, but taking down the warrior wasn't his top priority at the moment. "No, I think somebody else has entered the ballgame. We have another brat to concern ourselves with."

Kingpin muttered a few more curses under his breath before facing Orsino. He looked at the spectral men, who he was completely unaware of being a spirit, with curious eyes. "If you are such an expert in this matter then do explain to me who is behind this," said the Kingpin. "I want to know who is killing my men so that I may rip their tongue out from their throat."

What brutal language, the spirit knew that he dragged the right man into this world with him. "Well, I can't give you any guarantees just yet," said Orsino. "But, if I had to guess, I'd say that we are dealing with a Hunter. This Hunter is after our men because they believe that they can climb up the ladder to take us down."

There was truth to this, Orsino was almost certain that it was a Hunter behind all of this. It was the Kingpin's possessed men that had fallen victim to a Hunter's blade. However, he didn't want to reveal his true status as a spirit just yet so he wasn't about to explain the full purpose of a Hunter to the Kingpin. It would jeopardize what the spirit had planned right now for everybody, including the Kingpin.

Vengeance would be his, and nothing would stand in his way of claiming it.

"I want you to find out who this Hunter is then, Orsino," said Kingpin. He was fuming mad at this point as he barked his orders. He hated this humiliation and he didn't want any of the other crime bosses to think him weak. The last thing he needed was a coup d'état being tossed into the air like a baseball. "I want you to bring this bastard to me, alive, so that I may teach them a lesson that they'd soon regret."

"Gladly," said Orsino. "I'll bring this little shit back as soon as possible."

The Kingpin would hold the spectral man to that promise. Even as Orsino left the office, Kingpin was devising ways of making the Hunter pay, or if it came to it how to punish Orsino for failing him.

The thing that Drake hated more than anything else was failure. Well, that and betrayal. Nothing worse than having a traitorous viper in your midst. That's what made it such a shame that Drake was painfully unaware of the cunning viper that he entrusted in his nest.

* * *

><p>(Kai)<p>

So many reports had flooded in about the murders that have been taking place the last couple of days. That normally wouldn't have mattered to the Guardian, but last night's fire had gotten mixed in on the reports. Kai saw how the tenants had been brutally murdered before a fire was lit in the Bronx that scorched the earth with its blaze.

And that's what made Kai very curious. He thought that was fairly out of the ordinary so he decided that it deserved some investigation. Using his better judgment, Kai took himself to the site where the building once stood.

It was still midday when Kai arrived and the police were still running wild as they did their investigation. The fire department was also present, assisting in attempting to unveil the causes of the fire. From what Kai was able to listen in on, the fire was caused by a gas leak from every gas stove in the building released followed by something that could spark the flames. After that it just spawned into an uncontrollable fire that lead to the building being reduced to ash with all the tenants inside the apartments being left as nothing.

Kai could tell that no sane human would be able to pull off such a feet. The air was stained by something far more villainous, something that was bathed in the realm of spirits. Cracks in the veil that separated this world from the next were begging to be torn asunder, but were slowly being mended as the ground was sanctified.

If a spirit was behind these murders then the fire that burned building would cleanse the damage done. It would be a slow process, but this prevented anymore wicked spirits being born from the stolen lives on the innocent victims that had been killed.

"Why do I have the feeling that the spirit I've been tracking and this are related?" whispered the Guardian. "This just can't be a coincidence. There has to be something else behind this."

Kai turned away, leaving this soiled building behind to return to his apartment. He had some preparations to make and he needed to get Sam in on this. He felt very strongly about this, knowing damn well that the city was about to face a big threat and that it needed to be stopped before it was too late.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

The hunt was on.

Guardian had a strong enough track on the killer to put a stop to him before his next attack. Justice was running right by his side, forcing to hold himself back so that Guardian could keep up with him. It would be difficult for Justice to get the guy if he didn't have Guardian with him to keep a constant track on the killer's location.

It was already past midnight when they got a clear enough image of the perp. Justice spotted the figure of someone running across the rooftops about a block away from them. Guardian also noticed this and told Justice to go all out and that he'd catch up with him.

With that said, Justice lit himself off with a bang. The Spirit Warrior sprang into the air and flew at full speed to chase down their killer. Guardian was left behind in the dust, but that didn't seem to matter to him as he leaped over the next building. He took out his sai to be prepared to back up the young hero once he was close enough.

Something was telling Guardian that this killer was no ordinary human so it would be wise to tread with caution.

As for Justice, he didn't seem to think twice as he flew after the killer. In the air, he wrapped his arms around the killer's form, dragging them down to the ground. They both landed flat on the rooftop with a deep grunt leaving the killer. Justice didn't think twice of it as he pulled away and sprang up to his feet with a fight already beginning.

The killer was quick to get up, seemingly unphased by the impact of Justice's surprise attack. This clearly showed Justice that he was up for a tough fight, which he threw himself into without wasting any time. He punched the killer, aiming for their shoulder only to have his hand get snatched up and his entire body getting thrown to the ground.

Justice had a rough landing after the killer completely flipped him over. This came as a shock to the hero as he groaned in pain before a foot came down to stomp his lungs. He quickly caught the leg and pushed his attacker back then flipped himself back up. He charged after the killer, this time responding a little more carefully since he didn't want to get thrown back like the last time.

However, the killer was still quicker then Justice had anticipated. Throwing back the hood, the killer revealed her mocha skin and ponytailed hair. Justice was caught off guard to find out that the killer was a woman and almost reconsidered Guardian's calculations when she sprang after him once again.

She was fast and easily managed to hit Justice in the chest with both of her feet. The force of the attack sent the Spirit Warrior sailing across the rooftop, knocking him towards the edge were he'd fallen had he not grabbed onto an air unit.

While Justice was down for the moment, Guardian had finally shown up to join the fight.

Guardian wasn't too surprised to see how impressive of a fighter she was. Not even the fact that she was a woman seemed to throw him off his game. He simply ignored that fact and saw her as an enemy that needed to be put down before she could do anymore harm.

With sai in hand, Guardian prepared to charge after her. The shine of the weapons were enough to make her smirk as she quickly figured out what he was.

"Why am I not surprised that a Guardian is here?" said Ayla. "You're not doing your job, buddy. Too many bad guys are slipping through your fingers."

"I won't allow this one to get away from me," Guardian said, threatening her.

Not even bothering to defend herself, Ayla rushed after her opponent. Guardian did exactly the same and they were soon locked in battle.

Ayla danced aside from his blades, successfully avoiding getting hit with any nicks or scrapes. She latched onto one of his arms when he had extended it too far from him to recall with enough speed. Taking advantage of this vulnerable moment, she used the force of her palm to push the Guardian back just as Justice had gotten back on her feet.

Even with two against one, Ayla still managed to hold an advantage in the fight.

Justice did better this time around though as he tried a roundhouse kick at her. Ayla managed to duck just in time, however, and returned the favor by kicking him in the leg. For a second, Justice's legs buckled a bit which she exploited as she grabbed him and drove her knee into his stomach.

"I thought Spirit Warriors were supposed to be tough?" said Ayla. "You're just a little bitch."

Justice groaned in pain as Ayla threw him aside.

While her back was still turned, Guardian came back after her but the sound of his footsteps betrayed him. Ayla heard his movement and effortlessly avoided her attack by driving her elbow into his masked face. She broke the mask on impact before snatching the pair of sai from his hands.

Ayla twirled the sai around when she spotted Justice getting back on his feet. At least she could say that they didn't give up, which was a quality that she could respect.

Throwing herself into the air, Ayla attempted to kick Justice in the face. Her attacks were blocked though by Justice as he defended himself with her forearms. As she was about to return to the ground, Justice caught her by the legs and tossed her back into the air with enough force to cause her to flip around. However, even as she was left vulnerable, Ayla managed to throw one of the sai at Justice, which succeeded into cutting through the leather and drawing a line of blood on his forearm.

Fighting past that initial stinging pain, he was more determined now to kick her ass.

With her back exposed, Justice kicked the young woman with a great deal of force. It would've been enough to break her back had she been just a regular human. But her resilience protected her from drastic injury even as she fell face first on the rooftop with her face getting scraped up in the process.

Disarmed as well, Justice approached Ayla with a certain amount of cockiness now.

"You had enough?" said the young hero.

"I give," said Ayla. "You've proven that you're tough, at least tougher then I originally expected." She, slowly, began to pick herself up from the ground when Guardian showed up with his weapons back. He had them pointed at her as Justice came up beside him. "Is all of this fighting really necessary, boys? We are, after all, on the same side."

"You're a murderer," said Justice.

"No, I'm a Hunter, well Huntress," corrected the young woman. "The name's Ayla."

Justice was about to counter back when Guardian dropped his sai to the hero's surprise. With the mask gone, the Oriental man's confused expression appeared clear on his face. He looked at Ayla with a great deal of focus before letting out an annoyed sigh rip out from his throat.

Guardian pulled Justice back after returning his sai to their proper place behind his back. "Why am I not surprised that one of you decided to get involved," said Guardian. "How much are you getting paid for this job?"

"Not enough, considering all the fucked up shit that's going on in this city," said Ayla. "I would call for backup, but I highly doubt that anybody would be stupid enough to get involved."

"That makes sense," said Guardian.

"What makes sense?" asked Justice. "Kai, why aren't we kicking this chick's ass? What the hell does it mean that she's a Hunter?"

"Huntress," said Ayla.

It was clear to the Huntress that Justice was new to this game. So she stepped aside, choosing to take a seat on top of half-broken lawn chair.

Guardian faced Justice, preparing to let out another long-winded explanation. "A Hunter is the opposite of a Guardian, Sam. Where Guardian's are chosen and fight to maintain order, Hunters are breed and kill for payment," said the Oriental. "Hunters attack people who are possessed by wicked spirits, not giving a damn who they take down in the process."

"So she's not evil then?" asked Justice.

"Not evil," said Ayla, "but I am a greedy bitch that loves to kill spirits."

"That's putting it in a nutshell," Guardian muttered. "Those people that you killed in the building, were they possessed?"

Ayla nodded her head as she got back up from her chair. She walked up towards the two men with her arms crossed over her chest. "There were some spirits in the building that killed all of the tenants before I got there," said the Huntress. "I killed the crooks then set the place on fire so that we wouldn't have to deal with any innocents turned vengeful spirits."

"Cleansing fire," said Guardian. "Have you learned anything at all since you started this job?"

"Nothing that you probably don't already know," said Ayla. "With a Guardian and a Spirit Warrior in town, this has to mean that some serious shit is about to go down. All of these lesser spirits seem to be almost connected to a big daddy. Now, what he has planned is beyond me, but it can't be anything good."

"Yes, I've been thinking the exact same thing," said Guardian.

"So we're all friends now?" asked Justice. "We're not going to kick each other's asses anymore?" He held up to his blood-stained arm to prove his point. The wound had healed itself by now, leaving behind only a faint line from where the wound once was plus the dried blood.

Ayla turned to Guardian, holding her hands up to signal that she surrendered. Guardian looked over to Justice to show him that was the answer.

Justice shrugged as he checked out the damage that Ayla did to his jacket. It looked like that he was going to have to send it to Blaine to get it fixed before the next fight. Then again, this war torn look did add to the heroic mystique.

"What does this mean now?" asked Justice. "Are you going to work with us, miss?"

"The name's Ayla, sweet ass," said the Huntress. She shot him a little wink, knowing damn well that Justice was cute even behind the mask and hood. It was one of her many gifts, one of which she didn't have to use to kill anything.

Guardian softly muttered that the hero was gay, which didn't seem to surprise the Huntress. She kind of figured by the angel wings on his back.

"I guess I could work with you guys," said Ayla. "Killing all these spirits is just too much for one girl to handle. I need a couple of _big,__strong__men_ to help me." She wasn't exactly exaggerating when she said that even if she did give out the sound of a damsel in distress. She was poking fun of their male egos, however, but it was true that she was going to need a little bit of backup on this one.

Justice and Guardian agreed to team-up with the Huntress though, knowing damn well that this was the only way they'd be able to make progress in this town. There was too many things that were going bump in the night so teamwork would be there only chance at conquering the dark forces at work here.

At least that's what the three had in mind when they decided to go with this.

* * *

><p>It was almost two when Sam finally made it back home.<p>

The teen was still dressed up in his hero garb since nobody else was home at the time. His uncle was working the super late shift. As for his mother and brother, they went out to see the midnight showing in the city for some book that they read turned movie. Sam forgot the title since he wasn't exactly interested, which is why he pretended that he was going to hang out with Blaine for the night.

So Sam had the place all to himself, which helped to make him very comfortable as he went inside. He pulled down the hood to his jacket and let out a deep sigh just as he opened up the door to his bedroom.

Flipping the light switch, Sam hissed by the sudden brightness as he removed his mask to help his eyes adjust. When he finally could see again, he threw his mask onto his dresser and turned to face his bed so he could strip out of the Justice uniform. However, when Sam turned, he immediately tensed up and stood there with wide eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Sam said, completely startled.

Sitting on his bed was Kurt who looked equally shocked as Sam did. Kurt was lying down on Sam's comfortable bed, half-asleep, but roused himself to sit up just as Sam entered the room. Kurt did expect to scare the heck out of Sam, but he didn't expect to see this. Never in his dreams could he have imagined that was Justice.

Kurt stayed there, wide eyed, as he looked solely at Sam without knowing what he should do. Sam was equally as confused as he couldn't think of a way out of this mess. There would be no trying to convince Kurt that he wasn't seeing what he was, plus that would be just stupid and childish.

The genie was out of the bottle on this one.

"How did you get in my room?" Sam asked, trying to defend himself.

"Your mom let me in before Stevie and her left for the movies," Kurt said as his voice cracked. "I wanted to spend the night with you; I thought maybe we could do something." He was shaking a little, which was painfully obvious to Sam, but something that he tried to convince himself wasn't happening.

Making the first move, Kurt pried himself up from the bed, fighting the urge to wet himself as he got closer to Sam. The young hero was completely paralyzed as Kurt got closer even when Kurt was standing right in front of him. With twitching hands, Kurt touched Sam's chest which was covered by the leather jacket. Slowly, his hand travelled down Sam's forearm to where the bloody wound inflicted upon him by Ayla was scarred over.

Kurt flinched when he noticed this as his fingers touched the dried blood. He almost panicked out of fear when he realized that the wound was closed and healed, something Sam had to remind himself to so he wouldn't freak himself.

Their eyes met and tears began to run down Kurt's face.

"I should've known," Kurt whispered, softly. "I had a feeling that I knew who Justice was, but I didn't want to even think that it was you." The tears were heavier as Kurt practically choked on his words. Sam sprang into action and, like a good hero, wrapped his arms around the love interest to hold them close. "I didn't want to think that you were the one who rescued me when I was so beaten and nearly raped."

"I'm sorry you had to see me like that," Sam said, remembering that night. All that blood, the desire to rip out Dave's throat was still burned in the back of his head. "I wanted to kill Dave so badly for what he did to you. What he did was pure evil and it still disgusts me every time I think about it."

Kurt closed his eyes, ceasing the urge to cry as he pieced it all together. From their first day of school, Sam had always been looking out for him. Sam saved his life that day and sometime after that he became Justice, saving his life three more times after that.

"Four times," said Kurt. "You saved my life four times."

Sam thought about it as it all came back to mind. The most obvious was the sacrifice of his own life to save Kurt, which led to him becoming bound to the Spirit of Justice. Then there was the Dave thing, something he tried not too hard to think about. He also rescued Kurt from some muggers and then there was that wicked, possessed man that attacked everyone in the New Directions and nearly killed Artie.

Yeah, four times he's saved Kurt's life.

"And I'd save you a hundred more times," whispered Sam. "I love you, Kurt. I'll do anything to save you."

"Why did I have the feeling you'd say that?" Kurt said, looking at Sam starry eyed.

Sam could only smirk as he found himself unable to give him a proper answer. Instead, Kurt was the one who responded simply by leaning up to kiss Sam squarely on the lips with his fingers tangled into that blond mess. Eyes flying out of their sockets, Sam soon felt Kurt's full body pressed up against his with an ungodly amount of body heat hitting him.

It was a complete mystery to him as to why Kurt responded the way he did or why he had such a strong urge to take Kurt. All he did know was that Sam wanted to ride these feelings out as far as they would push him.

He wrapped his arms around Kurt's waist, lifting him up into the air with their lips continued to be smashed against each other. Kurt's fingers were still tangled in Sam's hair while his legs were wrapped around him. They both became extremely clinging of one another as Sam kicked his door closed and struggled to lock the doorknob as he adjusted Kurt a bit so to continue holding him up.

Kurt was smirking against Sam's lip as the young hero carried him to bed. They both fell onto the mattress on their sides with their lips continuing rub against one another as their tongues invaded each other's mouths.

In the middle of all this, Sam quickly snapped back into reality that didn't involve his crazy hormones. "Kurt, we have to stop," Sam said, softly. He had a feeling he'd smack himself in the face later for this. Mainly it was because here was the boy that he had been in love with for years, throwing himself at him. "We shouldn't be doing this."

Snapping out of it as well, but no so quick to end it, Kurt rolled on top of Sam. He straddled himself on Sam's lap with his fingers being used to slowly unzip Sam from his jacket. "The reason I came here today was because I wanted to be here with you, Sam," whispered Kurt. He pulled the zipper down all the way then used his hands to go underneath Sam's shirt to touch the blonds' chest.

Kurt had seen Sam without a shirt on over a million times, but this was the first time that it was done so intimately. He took time to touch every inch of the muscle that had developed from years of exercise that Sam dedicated so much of his time to. "I thought we could try going a little further with things," said Kurt. He memorized every inch of muscle, pausing so to see the reaction that Sam had when touched a particular area. Sam's eyes were glazing over terribly as he withered into the feeling that Kurt brought him. "I'm not so afraid of being touched anymore, but I can only do this with you. You're the only one I trust."

Sam pulled his upper body up from the bed, which forced Kurt's hands out of his shirt. The feeling of his delicate hands against him was something that he missed as soon as he lost it. He longed to have that feeling back, but only if Kurt was serious about this and he meant absolutely serious.

"Are you sure about this?" Sam asked. "I don't want you to feel pressured into doing this. I didn't save your life so that you'd have sex with me."

"I know," Kurt whispered. He wrapped his arms around Sam's neck, pulling himself closer so that his lips were just about to touch. The heat of his body on top of Sam caused a little friction in Sam's lower regions, which he felt against him and noticed the faint crimson flash on his cheeks. "You saved me because you love me. I love you too, Sam, but I never thought we'd actually be together. Now that we are, I don't to let you go. I want to be yours, I want to have everything with you."

Sam smiled as he soon meet Kurt's lips for a gentle kiss. The stayed together in this position with Kurt on Sam's lap as their lips continued to their little dance before they fell back on the mattress.

Kurt tugged off Sam's jacket followed by the shirt so that his muscular torso was exposed. Sam unzipped his pants then kicked his boots off to the side so he could shake his pants off. He was left standing there in just his boxer-briefs as he slowly climbed on top of Kurt, lips hovering over the veins on his neck.

A soft sigh escaped Kurt's lips as he felt Sam's teeth biting down on his neck. His body felt incredibly warm, while Sam began to run the palms of his hands up and down the body of his smaller partner. Kurt's toes curled from his sockless feet as another softer sigh escaped from his lips and he gently spilt Sam's name.

Moving slowly, Sam began to ceremoniously disrobe Kurt as he took time with every article of clothing. Thankfully, it was summer so Kurt didn't have very many layers. Of course, the shirt was the first thing that was pulled off of Kurt's body so that his less defined chest could be seen. Sam's mouth descended upon the little, pink nipples as he took care to lick each and suck on each one for a moment. This made Kurt giggle as a sensitive part of his body was being taken care of as the hormones in his body caused the blood to rush to his privates in the excitement of all this.

Taking care of that problem too, Kurt was unzipped out of the skinny jeans that he had on. The skin-tight clothing were tossed to the floor so that Kurt was free to parade around in his Dior briefs if he so chose. The soft fabric felt great against sensitive organ, but having Sam rub his privates against his felt remarkable.

Their lips met up once more as they locked their limbs around each other. Kurt had Sam lift him up with that superhuman strength of his while the blond also used his gift of flight to have them over above the bed for a moment. Kurt was completely oblivious to this as he felt nothing but Sam's flesh against his own, which felt incredible, not to mention so right.

If Kurt had even had the slightest hint that Sam was gay a few years ago then he would've acted out on his emotions. He would've pursued Sam instead of wasting time shamelessly hitting on his future step brother, Finn then ending up in the relationship from Hell with Dave. But Kurt pushed those thoughts aside as he focused solely on this beautiful night that he was about to share with Sam, the boy he's loved since he was a kid.

Sam had similar thoughts running around that head of his as well. He kept on kissing Kurt with all the passion that he could muster up, while keeping them flying as an expression of the weightless love that he had for him.

He spun them around in the air with Kurt now on top of him. Kurt was so blind to this that he didn't even realize what was happening until he moved his legs so that they were beside Sam's. When his fell to the mattress, Kurt was startled to realize what was happening, but then he relaxed and realized just how fun having a boyfriend who had superpowers could be.

In the process of their mid-flight moments, the two stripped themselves of the last article of clothing that they had. Their underwear fell to the mattress and soon they found themselves completely nude with their bodies fully pressed against each other. For the first time, they completely exposed themselves to one another with full openness and it didn't even feel the slightest bit awkward.

This was pure perfection, it was destiny at work so to say.

Sam and Kurt kissed once more as they slowly began to rub their erections, dryly, against one another. What would've been painful under normal circumstances wasn't so. Their excitement led to them both producing quite a lot of pre-cum which was used as a natural lubricant as they rubbed together. They didn't even dream about stopping now that they had both given themselves up to the love and desires.

But before things went any further, Sam had to bring himself to a stop. He bit down on his bottom lip which caused Kurt to look at him with concern. Knowing that he had to say something, Sam faced Kurt and prepared to open his mouth when Kurt stopped him.

"I know," Kurt said, softly. "I don't care, Sam. Just knowing that I'm with you will make it amazing. You don't have to be afraid about not lasting forever."

"So you really don't mind that I'm a virgin?" asked Sam.

"Of course not," said Kurt. "At least this way I might be able to erase all those bad memories and replace them with something beautiful."

Feeling better about himself, Sam was able to go through this without any fear about falling to meet Kurt's sexual expectations. He kept them afloat but turned them so that he was flying on top of Kurt who responded by wrapping arms and legs around him. Sam kept his legs at plank while using one hand to hold his lover and the other to grip hold of his circumcised erection. He felt Kurt's own cut one pressed against his abs with his natural lube making him a little sticky.

A slight giggled escaped him as Sam rubbed his length across what felt like Kurt's hole. Judging by the sighing responses that Kurt gave him, Sam managed to hit the spot. So using his pre-cum, he began to ease a finger inside of Kurt so to better prepare him. Not that Sam was well-endowed, but this was mainly done out of respect to Kurt and so that it would be possible for them both to enjoy their love making.

Kurt was fine with the first finger and welcomed the second one with passionate cries. He clung against Sam and had his nails dig into his back to show just how much he enjoyed it. Waiting for Kurt to give him an appropriate sign, Sam removed his fingers and replaced them with his penis which he gently squeezed the head inside of Kurt's ass.

Kurt easily accepted that much of Sam and begged for him to go all the way. Slowly, Sam eased himself in with his eyes closed and his mouth hanging open until he was all the way inside of Kurt. With what little restrain that his virgin body had, Sam managed not to blow his load just from getting inside. He was panting from control that urge because he wanted to make this moment last for as long as he could.

Sam began to rock his hips back, pulling out about an inch or so before going back all the way inside. Kurt's anal muscles responded by squeezing his length tightly as well as Kurt letting out gentle sighs. From there, Sam wasn't afraid to let out his own moans as he felt amazing by being inside of Kurt in such an intimate manner.

The two of them falling against a crashing wave of desire mixed with the feeling of being weightless as Sam kept them floating, made the experience all the more amazing.

But the fact that Sam was a virgin played its part in ending this magical moment. Sam couldn't do anything to stop himself from letting out a heated moan as he came hard, filling Kurt's insides with his seed. Kurt's muscles tensed up from the feeling of this as they slowly began to drift down to the mattress still with his erection painfully hard and oozing with his fluid.

Half-dazed, Sam looked into Kurt's lusty eyes before looking down to the source of this. Licking his lips, the blond descended down Kurt's body so to bring him to climax just as Kurt had allowed him to do. Without much trouble, Sam was able to take Kurt's full length down his throat. Kurt wasn't much smaller then Sam, maybe an inch or a half, but being his first time did make it a little difficult for Sam.

In almost not time though, the blond quickly got used to having Kurt inside his mouth. In fact, he quite enjoyed it and began to suck him off with gusto. Kurt was still ridding on the waves from having Sam fuck him only to have the feeling of being full replaced with this wet warmth around his cock. It was powerful enough to send Kurt over the edge, causing him to let out a soft curse as he spilt his seed down Sam's throat, which Sam welcomed.

Swallowing almost every last drop, he wiped off the extra contents with his non-scarred arm before climbing up to face Kurt. Sam pressed his lips gently against Kurt who responded back with an equally, exhausted response.

The couple found themselves on their backs with their hands locked together in this afterglow of sex.

Kurt could still feel Sam's essence coming out from behind him as it slowly began to dry. Sam still had the taste of Kurt inside his mouth, which made them both smile as held onto one another. They wrapped themselves around each other, neither one moving a single inch as they solely just stared into each other's eyes.

No words needed to be spoken about what had just happened. The look was enough to tell them that they experienced together was beyond amazing. The love that they made was proof enough of their commitment for one another. And it wasn't possible to judge them for moving too fast because their moment together was a longtime coming.

It was practically written in the stars that they belonged together. It just took them a few years to figure out that it was meant to be.


	13. Brave New World

**Author's Note: **Shorter chapter, I know, but hey its Finals time. Be happy you're getting a little something. Haha. Well, I hope you enjoy the chapter. It sets up the stage for a major change that is about to take place in the lives of our characters. I don't even want to give you a little hint as to what I mean by this. It's just BIG! That's all that can be said. Next update, you'll find out what I mean by that. Read and review!

**Brave New World:**

(Sam)

It wasn't too difficult to adjust to this new life that he had found himself in. With all this change that had been running around in his life lately, it's hard to see himself somewhere as extravagant as this. Here he was, living in up on the east side with his best friend and wasn't paying a penny on any expense.

A free ride exactly Sam would accept, but this was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. When Blaine had been issued an ultimatum to either stay home or move out and get Sam to be his roommate, Sam had been hesitant at first. Sam was just preparing to start going to trade school in the fall so that was eating up a lot of the money that he had saved up. It wasn't exactly his dream to go to college so he gave the rest of their father's inheritance money to Stevie since he was the one dreaming about going to a good culinary school. Then when Sam found out that Blaine's parents would take care of the rent and the utilities, Sam thought himself to be an idiot to miss out on this chance.

This was especially true since he didn't have to worry about exposing himself as Justice to his family, considering that Kurt got in on the secret. Sam no longer had to be afraid of someone catching him getting dressed up as Justice or dressed down.

Plus, what kind of idiot would pass up this freedom?

So Sam jumped at the chance and moved out before school started up. He had about two years of his life that he knew would be completely free since Blaine was solely shooting for his Bachelor's right now. Of course, Blaine would have to get a Masters, but Sam doubted that he'd be able to mooch freely from that point. That and Sam would be finished with school by then so the blond would want to start on his own adult life.

Their apartment felt more like a penthouse to Sam than anything else when considering its massive size. A huge living room was decorated with all the typical needs: sofas, a big TV, a stereo, and odd décor that was typical of young men. Their kitchen was fully equipped to handle anything and prepare any meal that their hearts so desired with a dining room large enough to fit a decent sized party. There were three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Blaine graciously bestowed the master bedroom to his best friend as a gift for allowing him to have this freedom from his parents.

Sam had finished preparing his bedroom with only a few days left before school started. He had brought most of his stuff from home with the exception of his desk and bed. That had already been provided for him by Blaine's parents as a gift for keeping their wild son grounded. The bed was massive enough to fit an entire family, which felt like you were sleeping on cloud and gave Sam plenty of restful sleep. His walls were a creamy shade of brown that relaxed his mind, especially after he spent a night saving the city from crime. And he had a spectacular view of the city, easily able to spot Time Square almost as excellent as you could in the living room.

It was safe to say that Sam was in love with this high class life.

And strutting out of his bedroom in tattered jeans and a t-shirt, Sam made it to the living room to greet their guests. For this mini-house warming, Sam and Blaine had been joined by the Scoobies as Blaine so generously called them. Their little party consisted of Sam, Blaine, Kai, Ayla, and Kurt, who were all in on this big superhero secret.

They all lounged about in the luxurious apartment, basking in the warmth of this modernly, chic home. The home of the young men was very nice and it easily made everyone jealous because of this high life they were living in.

"Who decorated your home?" asked Kurt.

Blaine returned from the kitchen with a bottle of champagne in his hand. Sure, he was still underage, but he was an Anderson so liquor was easy to acquire. "Jennifer Martin," said Blaine. "She got to work on our apartment after she finished working on Justin Timberlake's penthouse down the street." He poured the delicious contents into everyone's glasses with a smile on his face.

"Shut up!" said Kurt, excitedly. "Justin Timberlake really lives down the street from you?"

Sam rolled his eyes as he retrieved an acoustic guitar from a nearby stand, while holding his champagne. Their designer had truly been a remarkable woman and left plenty of fun decorative goodies that were actually usable. "Blaine's just fucking with you, babe," said Sam. "We live nowhere near Justin Timberlake. But Selena Gomez does live in this building."

"Really?" asked Ayla.

"Yup," said Blaine. "We actually met her. She's a sweetheart and the only girl I'd consider going straight for."

Blaine said that with a remarkable amount of certainty that actually surprised everyone in the room. Even as he slammed down his first glass, he surprised himself by actually admitting that to a room full of people. He had to pour himself a second glass before moving on from that horrid subject and remembered that he enjoyed penis.

Kai couldn't help but to feel a little disturbed by that as he took a sip from his glass.

Ayla didn't seem to care too much as the Turkish girl crossed her legs and enjoyed the drink that ran down her throat. It tasted perfectly delicious so she easily drank it all without even the slightest of struggles before requesting a second.

As his companions were getting drunk, Sam got closer to Kurt on the sofa that they were currently occupying. Kurt had his head against his boyfriend's shoulder and just listened as Sam mindlessly strummed away on the guitar, playing a meaningless tune for pure satisfaction. The soft rhythm of the sounds that escaped the strings relaxed Kurt as the contents of his drink made him lose some of that inhibition.

They all listened to Sam's mindless playing as they did nothing else but sit, talk, and drink.

It was a good day so why not enjoy this moment of peace?

* * *

><p>(Kingpin)<p>

It was turning out to be a bad day, which pissed Drake Valentine off to no end.

The latest news report came and the Kingpin was forced to listen as the reporters went on how a major drug smuggling operation had been busted. Justice had intervened with their affairs upon learning of the human smuggling that was involved on the side. Just how this meddlesome hero found out was a mystery to everyone from the cops to the reporters and all the way up to the Kingpin himself.

Throwing his glass of water at the wall, Kingpin did not give a damn about the mess that was made as it shattered apart. The contents of his drink left a wet stain on the wall and served as a reminder of the aggression that was building up in the criminal's chest.

"Fuck that mother fucker!" shouted Drake. "Justice is beginning to really piss me off. He has stopped five of my operations in the last month. I've lost my hands on three prostitution rings, a weapons group, and now one of my big drug warehouses is gone. This is losing me over a million fucking dollars a year! Do you know how much this is going to fucking cost me to repair the damage done?"

His sons were trembling as they kept their distance from their angry father. The Valentine Triplets knew that it was unwise to even breathe too loud when their father got like this. The young men valued their lives far too much to step a toe out of line while he was in such a condition.

As for Orsino, he downright didn't give a damn about any of that. These petty jobs were no concern at all to him since it did nothing to the bigger picture he had plotted. Still, he needed to play his part in order to maintain pretenses with Kingpin so to continue the use of his resources that the spirit had no access to on his own.

"Easy, Drake," said Orsino. "This is just a small setback. A million out of a billion is nothing almost."

"It still costs me money!" Kingpin growled at his advisor. He's face began to turn red from the boiling anger that was climbing up to the surface. If he had another drink then he possibly would've thrown it at Orsino, but the spirit was lucky. "This also damages my reputation. If I can't protect the crime families' boys then I will lose my legitimacy and title. I will be overthrown as kingpin and somebody else will steal what I've worked so hard for after all these years. No, I will not accept such a fate."

Orsino sighed as he stirred from his chair. He uncrossed his legs as he stood up so to face the angry man that stood before him. "If that's the case then perhaps we should consider a more active role in this fight," he said, calmly. He turned to Drake to gauge his reaction only to discover that there wasn't much. It seemed he would have to go into greater details about this plot in order to get any proper attention.

That annoyed the spirit a little, but he continued on with what he had to say. "Justice is becoming a problem for us so then we should do something about him," said Orsino. "Let's get back at him by attacking. We'll set up an operation that will surely get his attention then force him into a fight where we'd hopefully get him to submit. After that then it'll be smooth sailing from there."

Now that he had spelt it all out to Kingpin, Orsino could see the gears going in the man's head. The ingenious began to stir as Kingpin thought of the brilliance behind such an obvious plan that would surely get them somewhere with this Justice situation.

Miguel, Mason, and Magnus were statues as they turned to face their father. They gauged his reactions as well to see that he was very interested in the plans of his advisor. For whatever reason, his sons could tell that something was changing in the way that their father was operating since this man had broken into the office.

"Boys, you are dismissed," ordered their father. "Go to your stations, I will call if I need anything else."

Without much choice, the sons of the Kingpin cleared the room to give him space. Kingpin waited until the door was closed before focusing his sights on Orsino once more. He placed both hands on his wooden desk as he squinted his eyes and looked deeply at the spirit.

"What exactly do you have planned, Orsino?" asked Kingpin. "Why the sudden interest in dealing with Justice?"

"Only a fool would leave him unchecked," Orsino said, simply. "And we are no fools, Drake. If we are to continue our work then we must do something about Justice before he can find something that will trace all these affairs back to us. Then where will we go? What will happen to your empire then? And what cruelties will befall your sons without your paternal protection that they cling so desperately to for support?"

The words of the spirit pierced what little civility that the Kingpin held. He was so wrapped in crime and business that he almost forgot what mattered to him. As contradictory as it seemed, his sons and his estranged daughter mattered most of all to him. And he knew how right Orsino was if he were to fall into the hands of Justice.

"Use the Harbor as our trap," said Kingpin. "Get a few of my men on that job and make sure that they are properly armed."

"As you wish," Orsino said, leaving the office.

Once again, the spirit had Drake eating out from the palm of his hand.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

Taking the day off from his diner job, which was typical of actors, Kurt decided to pay a visit to someone. It was something that Kurt didn't exactly do; this wasn't the normal thing for him. For starters, Kurt was famous for having a near-perfect attendance to everything and anything. The only time this perfection was taken from him was when his mother passed away and the infamous Dave incident.

He didn't know what motivated this sudden decision of his, but it would be the beginning of a new chapter in his life. His mind was completely blinded to his own decision until he made it across the city to where he needed to be.

Along the way, however, Kurt was a total zombie as he walked along the numerous roads of the city. This alien motivation kept him pushing onward so that when he finally reached his destination only then was his mind opened to him.

Kurt went up the elevator until he reached the seventh floor of the apartment complex. He mechanically approached the door, knocking until he finally heard a response from the occupants inside. When the door opened, Kai and Ayla were surprised to find Kurt standing there without Sam present as well.

This was surprising to Kurt as well, but he finally understood why he was here.

"Hello Kurt, come on inside," Kai said, cracking a gentle smile. Ayla stepped away from the door so to give Kurt the opportunity to enter the apartment. The young man looked around the apartment without casting any judgment on the bare decorations. "What brings you to this end of town? Is there a problem with Sam?"

"Trouble in Paradise?" Ayla said with exaggerated hand gestures.

The Huntress crashed out on the sofa, retrieving one of her knives which she had been busy polishing. She kicked her feet up on the table and took the liberty to relax in her home with a guest present. Yes, Ayla was living with Kai mainly because the Guardian wanted to keep an eye on her that and Ayla was too cheap to pay for her own place in the city. It was way too expensive for her to actually afford on the "meager" check that she got from this mysterious Society that she was a part of.

After all this time, it finally dawned on Kurt just who Ayla reminded him of. She was the Middle Eastern version of Santana, only Ayla was older, sexier, and a little more sarcastic if that was humanly possible. Even he doubted that God would allow people like Ayla and Santana running around at the same time at any point in history. There would have to be some kind of buffer space in order to prevent the universe from imploding.

Speaking of God, Kurt has been nerding out on Sam's science fiction obsession a little too hard now.

"If the issue isn't about Sam then why are you here, Kurt?" asked Kai. "Not to be rude, I only meant that we're not exactly close. We're on friendly terms, but I wasn't certain close enough to actually go to one another's homes."

Kurt knew that he had some explaining to do as he faced the Guardian, still standing in the middle of the living room. Kai stood as well and appeared very confused as to the reason why Kurt was here, while Ayla was just eyeing them both as she continued her polishing.

"The issue is kind of Sam related, but not negatively," Kurt said, softly. The young man turned to the wall where he spotted the sai that were hung up in place. They were the weapons of the Guardian, used by Kai to fight off evil. Kurt felt a surge of courage by looking at the weapons as he turned to face their wielder. "I'm on danger."

"What?" Kai said, panicked.

Ayla appeared about as alarmed as the Guardian did as she stopped polishing. She grabbed onto her knife and forced herself to get back on her feet. "Just tell point me in the right direction and I'll take care of this, Kurt," said the Huntress.

"Why haven't you told Sam this?" said Kai. "You know he'd go to the ends of the Earth to protect you."

"That's what I'm afraid of," Kurt said, realizing they were jumping to some serious conclusions. Maybe he should've rephrased himself so he didn't seem so dramatic. "I'm not in any immediate danger, but I will be because of who Sam is. The city's getting more and more chaotic by the day, which is why Ayla's here." He pointed at the Huntress who raised her knife up in support of this claim. "How long will it be before some psycho finds out that I'm important to Justice? How long will it be before they decide to come after me to get to him?"

It was a valid concern for one to have.

Kai hadn't exactly thought of this before, but it was pretty obvious now that he thought about it. He was certain that Sam especially hasn't given it much thought since his heroic rescue of the young man from his former boyfriend. As for Ayla, she tilted her head with the hilt of her knife rubbing against her cheek. She was pretty much lost as to what was going on here exactly besides Kurt's legitimate fears.

They were both interested in seeing where this was going exactly.

"What I'm trying to say is," said Kurt, "I have to learn to protect myself. Even since what happened with Dave, I swore to myself that I'll never be a victim again. I refuse to just stand there and take whatever it is that people throw at me. So, this past year I've been learning how to fight, but I know that's not enough considering what Sam is up against."

"Go on," urged Kai.

Kurt pit down on his bottom lip as he paused to recollect himself. Kai and Ayla waited anxious to hear what he had to say next, which he blurted out without taking too much time. He stepped closer to the Guardian with his emotional plea about to reach its climax.

"I need your help, Kai," said Kurt. "I want you to teach me how to protect myself. You an expert on all this spirit stuff, you can teach me how to defend myself from at least some of the things that will come after me. I don't want to be helpless and completely dependent on the rest of you to come to my rescue. I have to try and learn how to save myself."

Ayla widened her eyes, oddly surprised that he went to the Guardian for support. Then again, it did make sense since Kurt was probably aware that Kai would go easier on him if he accepted. The training regimen that Ayla had in place would've been too difficult for the lithe boy to handle; even she barely managed to survive the first weeks of it. Now, she could easily take down a man who weighed over three hundred pounds.

The Huntress turned away, leaving Kai alone to deal with this.

Kai was equally surprised by Kurt's request of him. Taking on a pupil, for whatever reason, hadn't exactly been on his mind in the recent months. Sure, like anyone else, Kai was concerned about his own mortality at times, but even then the responsibility of raising a student was out of his solar system. This was something he couldn't exactly see himself doing, not when one considered about the forces that were brewing on the rings.

But then it dawned on Kai just how desperately Kurt needed him and how he needed Kurt as well. The look of determination in the young man's eyes plus that of the purity in his heart spoke to Kai in a way he's never seen from another person before. Not even the shine of Sam's aura could compete with what Kurt had inside of him. Within Kurt was the potential to be strong, to be a force of good for this dark world.

At that moment, Kai knew he had found someone to pass on his legacy to. This wasn't a legitimate child or even his bastard, but it was someone who'd respect the discipline and honor the way of the warrior. Kurt had the potential to protect and it was something that Kai felt was inspiring.

"Alright," Kai said, calmly. "I will take you on as my pupil, Kurt. I will teach you what you need to know about how to protect yourself from spirits as well as mortals. But remember, Kurt, this training isn't merely physical and about throwing punches. With spirits, you must be able to protect your mind and soul from the potential corruption that they wield. If they can get into your head then they will hold your soul in their grasp and nothing will be able to save you but death."

"That's where I come in!" Ayla said, rising up her knife. "Listen very closely to what Kai tells you, Kurtie. It might save you from me plunging a knife in your chest."

Kai would've told Kurt to ignore her had Ayla not spoken the truth.

Kurt gulped as he thought about the mess he was getting into. He was just hoping to get some Karate Kid lessons then be on his merry and gay way. What Kai was talking about seemed more intense, like he was being dragged into some kind of supernatural internship.

But, then again, what did Kurt have to lose by accepting Kai's conditions? The goods vastly outweighed the bads. Kurt would learn how to properly defend himself from one of the best in exchange for patience and discipline.

"Thank you, Kai," Kurt said, accepting the conditions. "You have no idea how grateful I am that you'll do this for me."

Kai nodded before dragging Kurt to an empty part of his apartment. Now, they would begin the training because Kurt had a lot to lone and they might not have as much time as they hoped for him to learn.

* * *

><p>(Orsino)<p>

Away from the pathetic squabbling of Kingpin, the spirit was able to rest at ease in the private office was completed for his own use. He sat his very large and very comfy chair with his back fully pressed against the cushion of leather that melted away all the annoyances of his business partner. It brought much ease to the mind of the spirit as there was a giant wedge getting thrown into the well-oiled machine that was his plans.

The beautiful office was a mere distraction for Orsino at the moment. It was his sanctuary from the day to day relationship that he had with Drake Valentine. Sometimes, the spirit forgot why he joined forces with that pathetic man when he remembered why. His purpose was to increase the power that Orsino needed in order to make all his dreams come true. If only they didn't have to worry about that meddlesome Spirit-Warrior getting in the way of his work.

Everything that he had spent centuries planning was on the verge of being derailed by the interference of a damnable boy. The scar on his body from their last encounter was forever imprinted onto the chest of the spirit. Well, one of many scars that he owed to the spirit within the boy. Over the centuries, the two of them have often crossed paths and it always ended in the spirit's defeat, while the benevolent reigned supreme.

Now, his plans were threatened once more by that interferer. It was becoming a tired game at this point, but the spirit knew he had to come up with a proper plan to dispose of the cretin once and for all. However, something of the caliber would take much too long for him to put together, while Kingpin wanted him to act soon.

Orsino did not know enough about their enemy's strengths and weaknesses to pull off a scheme so fast. At best, he could only put together that trap to find a cog in the hero's machine, which will hopefully yield him some results.

"Justice's Spirit-Warrior will be spared this time," Orsino said to himself, "but next time he will not be so fortunate. I'm merely delaying the inevitable, my day in the spotlight will come in due time." The spirit rose from his chair and began to approach the windows. His eyes gazed out to the city to where all of the insignificant creatures lurked. "So long as I act before the solar eclipse then nothing can stop me from opening the Door and overrun this world with my rage."

A grim laugh escaped Orsino as he relished the thought of destroying this world with an apocalypse. The Judgment Day for humanity was about to come faster than any of them expected, if this fallen spirit had any say so in the matter. And, in fact, Orsino had a very large say so since he was the one holding all of the cards in his hands.

Only a miracle or divine intervention would be enough to stop what the spirit had planned. But neither would happen because of the compact that those good spirits had to follow. The rules of their bindings and involvement in the affairs of the humans were so limited that they were pointless. In fact, it was remarkable that Justice had even found a Spirit-Warrior for him to inhabit. This boy must've been a very remarkable case in order to have caused Justice to seek him out.

"Then again, I do owe the boy a smile thanks," Orsino said, smiling. "If it wasn't for him then I'd never found that opening in the Veil. I was easily able to slip through the cracks thanks to the boy and Justice. And now here I am so close to making all my dreams come true that I can taste it on the tip of my tongue."

The spirit flicked his tongue out, like a snake, before overrunning himself with laughter.

* * *

><p>(Ayla)<p>

"Behind you, Huntress!" shouted Justice.

At his warning, Huntress was able to spot an attacker coming after while her back was turned to him. She quickly broke the criminal that she was dealing with right now before spinning her entire body around with her leg up in the air. The steel-toed boots smashed against the jaw of her would-be-attack and easily off-set the bones from their proper alignment.

The man went down, holding onto his broken jaw while letting out a horrific cry of pain. His entire body soon became paralyzed by this overwhelming agony, causing him to pass out in light of this.

Justice was at ease to see that his friend was unharmed as he disabled his attacker. He cracked the man's shoulder before throwing him down to the ground to go after his next target.

What had started as a simple patrol became much more than that. Huntress and Justice stumbled on a massive robbery by one of the higher-scale art galleries in the city. There were over two dozen men inside, at least from what they could immediately see from the skylights. It was too dark to really keep track so there might have been more or there might be less.

Either way, Justice and Huntress went into action. Huntress was hoping that at least one of the men was possessed so she could have a good reason to kill one of them. As for Justice, well, he was just trying to uphold justice and keep the city of New York safe.

Justice rolled back, avoiding a couple of punches from getting him. Huntress slid down on the ground and easily got away from any immediate danger. They could tell that none of these cat burglars were armed with anything more deadly than a pocketknife. None of them were carrying a gun and none were spotted laying about so this was a safe assumption to make.

It was still, however, an assumption so they needed to continue practicing caution. Being completely careless and cocky is what gets people killed in a fight. Caution mixed with a decibel of fear was what kept a person alive enough to detect danger then back out if necessary.

Huntress pulled off some serious acrobatic, Catwoman type moves during their little rumble. She went from one spot to the next in a matter of seconds as she moved much faster than the eye could keep up with. This was an advantage that she used to latch onto the backs of her enemies smashing them face first to the ground.

Justice wasn't quite as violent as his companion was. He went straight for takedown moves too, but his didn't rely so much on breaking bones and making a man bleed to death. He only rendered them unconscious, which would last long after the fight was done and the cops had arrived. Like right now, Justice kneed a man in the lungs before hitting him across the face to make sure the air was completely out of him.

In about ten minutes, the entire room was cleared while every single alarm in the beginning began to go off from their dramatic entrance. Yeah, they came crashing down the skylight like Batman would. All the stealth that the criminals had applied on this mission had gone straight down the drain thanks to the heroes.

With police sirens ringing and the criminals completely incapacitated, this was the part where the heroes got out of there before they got in trouble.

"This ass whopping was brought to you by your friendly, neighborhood Justice!"

"And the deadly hunter, Huntress. Yeah bitches, you got fucked up by a girl, deal with it."

Justice grabbed onto Huntress and lifted them both into the air so they could fly through the opening they created. They made it to the roof of the building just as the first of the police cruisers began to pull up to the gallery. Not wanting to waste anymore time, the two of them got the hell out of there just as the police got to work on breaking open an already opened door.

Once they were far away enough not to be worried, Justice and Huntress stopped running as they let out sighs of relief. Justice pulled his hood down and removed his mask, while Huntress took off the scarf she used to cover the lower portion of her face. All that anyone would see from this deadly, Spirit Hunter was just her curls and her lethal eyes.

Ayla flinched as she tightened her hold on the scarf. Sam went up towards her, asking what was wrong when he noticed the blood on her gloves. The blood was still fresh too and it was flowing, which caused Sam to take hold of her hands before she could recoil.

There was an open wound on her right hand, which went all across her palm. How she could've kept such a painful injury a secret without allowing the pain to affect her combat abilities was beyond Sam. No way in hell could something as painful as that not slow him down even when considering how fast his body was able to heal.

"You got this from the fight?" Sam asked. He slowly got to work on peeling off the glove so he could dress the wound with her scarf. There was temptation to take her to the hospital, but considering the state they were both in it would've been far too suspicious. It would be much safer just to take her to Kai for healing.

"One of the fuckers got me with a knife," said Ayla. "The other one stings a bit too." She looked at her left hand to see if it was damaged. The glove was slightly torn so she had Sam take it off for her so they could see the light scratch on there. It wasn't bleed, but the skin had been torn slightly. The glove had absorbed most of the damage for her, which was a bit of a relief. "Damn, two of them got me. What the fuck is wrong with me? I've never been this slow before, especially when fighting mortals."

"There were a lot of them," Sam said, as he tightened the scarf-bandage. "I got a little cut on my right arm. Nowhere near as deep as yours though, but it's already healed."

"Lucky you," said Ayla. She knew her right hand would be useless until it got some proper healing either through supernatural or medicinal means. "Alright, we'd better get going. Its late and I want to get some sleep."

Sam agreed as they both took a moment to check to make sure they had no other injuries. Once they were satisfied with the results of their search they took off. Sam would remain with Ayla until they got to hers and Kai's place so he could make sure that her wound would be properly addressed too. Once he was done taking care of her, Sam would head on home so that he could get some well-deserved rest.

At least, he hoped so since Blaine had his Warbler buddies over tonight.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

The apartment wasn't that much of a disaster, but since Blaine had invited some of his Dalton friends over the night before it had to be straightened out a bit. Sam knew that he was going to have to do a better job at hiding the liquor from Wes since he was a bit of a booze hound. Now that he thought about that, it reminded him that he really needed to hide Blaine's collection of liquor and also the porn collection that they had built up.

Don't judge, they were both in the prime and they were men so they had needs. They never fulfilled those needs together, however, as they both respected their different tastes. Sam had a bit of a twink fetish and enjoyed softer porn, while Blaine was into the rougher sex with guys that had a lot of muscles and chest hair that and he was really into Asians. Plus, even though Sam had an amazing boyfriend, he wasn't going to force sex onto Kurt whenever he needed. If he had to beat himself off a couple of times to keep him from pouncing on Kurt then so be it.

The reason to why Sam was making their apartment a little more friendlier had to do with the fact that Stevie was going to be here for an entire week. His younger brother had decided that he wanted to spend a whole week in the city, partly because of some events that the Academy was hosting and because he wanted to get away from the house.

Not that Sam could blame Stevie for that, he went over to Blaine's plenty of times to escape.

Putting away a last of anything incriminating, a sigh of relief escaped Sam as the doorbell began to ring. This startled the blond for a moment but he recollected himself and rushed towards the door to answer.

Instead of seeing his Mini-Me, Sam was greeted with Kai, Ayla, and Kurt instead. Kai had two boxes of pizza in hand, while Kurt was carrying a couple of movies. Ayla refused to hold anything since her right hand was still a little messed up from the rumble that she attended with Sam.

"I forgot about movie night," said Sam. He slapped himself in the head as he stepped aside to allow his friends inside his home. "Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable. The place is clean and Blaine should be back in about twenty minutes."

"Sweet," said Ayla.

"Why is the place so clean?" Kurt asked. "Normally, you and Blaine have a small mess going around. And there's that stack of porn that you two leave underneath the coffee table." The hero's boyfriend was well-aware of the adult videos that Sam had in his possession. Not that he was judging since he had a video or two of his own now that he wasn't so traumatized by sex. He learnt a lot from porn, some of the techniques he tried out on Sam and made him go wild.

Sam blushed because of Kurt's comment as he slammed the door only to have the doorbell ring about five seconds later. Kurt raised an eyebrow to him, while Sam grinned like an idiot as he opened the door.

Now this was who he was expecting to see.

Dressed in a pair of gym shorts and an over-sized muscle tee, Stevie looked very relaxed as he carried his duffel bag over his shoulder. A smile formed on the younger Evans's face as he went up to hug his older brother. "Hey Sammie," said Stevie.

"Hey runt," Sam said, hugging his brother back. "Come on in, we got pizza and movies."

"Great, I'm starving," said Stevie. He brushed his blond bangs back when he noticed the small gathering that Sam had going on in the apartment. Not that he was offended or anything, Sam was allowed to have friends over since it was his own place. "Hey Kurt, it's good to see you. You never stop by the old neighborhood anymore since your dad became senator and since Sam moved out."

Kurt knew that Stevie didn't mean any offense by that, but it still felt kind of like a punch coming from the kid. He shrugged it off though as he went up to Stevie and gave the boy who was like the younger brother he always wanted a hug. "I've missed you too, Stevie," he said, getting what the boy meant. "Excited for school to start up soon?"

"Kind of," said Stevie. "I miss glee more than anything else right now. I don't want any more homework or the cruel pranks of Coach Sylvester."

"Yes, those were never fun," Kurt said, remembering the Cheerios coach.

Sam couldn't help but to agree as he got hold of his brother. He slung his arm over the kid's shoulder as he guided him into the living room with Kurt following behind. "You remember Kai right?" said Sam. "This is his roommate Ayla, she's from Turkey."

"Cool," Stevie said, waving at them both. "What part of Turkey are you from?"

"Istanbul," said Ayla, "born and raised."

Before Ayla could crack any jokes about his brother, Sam decided to show Stevie to his room. He helped his brother towards the guest bedroom and even grabbed the slightly, heavy duffel bag from him. When they came to the guest room, Sam set the things down on his bed and told his brother to make himself comfortable.

Stevie thanked his brother as he sat down on the bed for a moment.

Sam sat down beside him and felt happy to have his brother back with him. It had been a while since he's been to the old place what with getting ready for school and settling into the apartment and all the Justice things. Having this little slice of home was a much needed spoonful of sugar that he needed to make him feel better.

* * *

><p>END!<p>

Still not giving you a hint.

But I might consider messaging you something for some reviews. Get to work!


	14. Knockin' on Heaven's Door

**Author's Note:** I give you permission to hate me. Haha. I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. I meant to have it ready last night, but that didn't exactly work out so yeah. Have fun! Read and review.

**Knockin' on Heaven's Door:**

(Sam)

It was his day off from class so that's why he agreed to this.

Sam went back home to Brooklyn to meet his Uncle Sam for lunch. He had gotten a call from his uncle the day before and the man practically quilted his nephew into joining him for a meal by going on about how long it's been since they hung out. Guilt trips were an easy way to make Sam to fall for anything; Kurt knew this and used it to his advantage by making Sam suffer through numerous romantic comedies and foreign films.

Kurt was lucky to have someone as kind and patient as Sam for a boyfriend. Anyone else wouldn't have put up with all that insanity, so he was fortunate that Sam was so deeply in love with him.

But back to what was actually going on that day. Sam made it to the burger joint/bar that his uncle wanted to meet at. The young man ran a hand through his blond head before spotting his massive uncle over at the bar with a beer already in hand. That didn't surprise Sam since he knew his uncle very well. When it was Samuel Evans's day off, you'll find him at a bar with a tall, cold glass of beer in hand.

And why not? Sam's uncle was one of the city's finest, a man in blue. He earned that occasional beer for making sure that all those crooks didn't destroy the city. Well, now the younger Sam had taken care of that trouble as Justice. Still, it was best just to humor anything his uncle said and bare it with a big, old grin.

"Hey old man," Sam said, sneaking behind his uncle.

"Bout time, runt," said his uncle. He hugged his nephew for a moment before slapping Sam to join him at the bar. "Here I thought you bailed on your favorite uncle without so much a phone call. You know that would just break my heart."

Sam rolled his eyes as he signaled Mack the bartender to get him a Coke. He made himself comfortable since he knew that lunch with his uncle was a long, marathon of an event. The man loved his appetizers and always ALWAYS had to have a monster of a burger whenever he came to Henson's.

"You know I'd never do that to you, Uncle Sam," said the young man. "And besides, you're my only uncle by blood. I can't afford to piss you off."

The elder Sam got a chuckle out of that as he lifted up his beer to take a sip from it. He placed it back on the coaster before turning a bit to the side so he could properly check on the young man. "You never stop growing do you, Sam?" said his uncle. "You're looking more like a man every time I see you." He touched the cold glass for a moment as he briefly stared off into the distance, ignoring the game he had originally been watching. "It amazes me how much you remind me of your dad. It's almost like watching him grow up all over again."

Sam had a small smile on his face from the compliment. Mack finally came with his Coke, so the young man accepted it eagerly as he stuck a straw into it. His father had been such a closed subject for so many years that Sam almost forgot what the man was like. He could remember that he always did look a lot like him, especially from all the pictures he's seen of him. But his father's personality was always a bit fuzzier, which was especially true for Stevie.

And his little sister, it pained Sam to think that she never had the chance to live out her life. She died before she even had the chance to get out there and take life by the horns.

"Let's not talk about such depressing things," Sam said, softly. "Let's talk about the present. What's going on with your life, uncle? How's work treating you?"

Uncle Sam accepted the change in topic since he too felt himself being affected by it. He tried not to think about what happened to his older brother and niece, but that was difficult to do. Having his brother's family living with him and dealing with people everyday who committed similar crimes that ended their lives was a daily basis for him.

"Work is work," said his uncle. "We catch one bad guy and two more slip through our fingers. The only good thing about all of this is that at least that Justice is running around." He took another sip from his beer, while Sam had his curiosity very peeked by this. "You know, I didn't trust that Justice guy at first, but it's been two years and he's done a lot of good for this city so far. Criminals are actually getting caught and more lives are being saved, hell, it makes me do a lot more paperwork than fieldwork which is something I can handle. I rather be pushing papers in the office then be out on the streets."

"I thought you loved being out on the streets though?" said Sam.

"I do, Sammy," said his uncle, "but the things you see can never go unseen." He let out a deep sigh from his chest as he leaned in closer to his nephew. The stench of his beer wasn't as strong as Sam expected it to be, plus he was kind of used to it now from all his own drinking. "There are a lot of sick people out there and the things they do will make your hair turn white. Knowing that there is someone else out there, someone who isn't completely bound by law to treat those sick fucks 'fairly' helps me to sleep at night."

Sam understood what his uncle meant by that. As Justice, he wasn't bound to the laws of man as a police officer was. Police had to act out on the law that was written by man, while Justice was free to punish those by divine retribution. It was a trait that Sam couldn't always control whenever he went out on patrol because sometimes the spirit living inside of him would overpower him. He'd become a mad berserker like Ayla would, but Sam always fought at least to retain that fragment of humanity.

"Now how's living in uptown like?" his uncle asked, changing to a lighter subject. "I'm sure you and Blaine are just tarring the nightlife up."

"You have no idea," said Sam. "It's interesting to say the least, but I'd much rather be back in Brooklyn. There's so much drama up there. Actually, I'd rather be back in Tennessee. I miss the country life; the whole small-town vibe was comforting. Here, it's just too messy and chaotic."

"You can take the boy from the country, but you can't take the country from the boy," laughed Uncle Sam. "You're a true country boy, Sammy. Now your brother, he's more of a city boy. He enjoys all this mess."

"Stevie just likes the attention," said Sam. "He loves trying to stand out from the crowd. He just likes being around a diverse group of people more than anything else. That's something that reminds me of Kurt."

"Do you think you'd ever be able to take Kurt from the city?" said his uncle. "I've known that boy since he was born. Kurt will fight to stay in New York. This is where he'll make his dreams come true, at least that's what he believes."

For some reason, Sam had never thought about that. He always knew he wanted to go back to Tennessee since he was little. But always in his fantasies, Kurt was there with him. But Kurt wasn't exactly a country boy. Kurt loved the city; it's the home he always knew. Sam knew that it would be practically impossible to get Kurt to change his world.

"Honestly, uncle," said Sam, "I have no idea. All I do know is that I'll follow Kurt to the end of this world and the next just to be with him.

Uncle Sam could only laugh at Sam as he took another sip from his beer, mumbling about how bad his nephew got it. He slammed the empty glass on the counter as he called Mack to fill him up and ordered a couple of hot wings for them.

Yeah, Sam had it real bad for Kurt.

* * *

><p>(Kai)<p>

Over three months had passed since he began his studies. It had been quite the adventure, but Kurt was grateful to have someone like Kai as his mentor. Kai was teaching him everything that he could in order to help the young man to defend himself from the potential threats that lurked about in the city.

And during this time, Kai had taken such a great deal of interest in Kurt. He could see how much talent that the boy had from his fierce determination, his creative thinking, and his youthful energy. Kai had never thought Kurt was such a spirit, but he had learned not to underestimate the young artist after all their time training together.

So Kai did everything he could for Kurt. The Guardian taught the young man techniques to help protect himself from both mortals and spirits. It wasn't the most advanced techniques nor could Kurt use them to their full potential since he had no supernatural abilities, but it was protection. The skills brought comfort and hope to the young man, which would prove to be the greatest defense that Kurt could gain in order to survive the coming storm.

But there was still so much more to Kurt Hummel then there appeared to be on the surface. Kai saw a vast well of potential in the young man, which is why the Guardian was so determined to see Kurt perform at his best.

"Again," Kai said, sharply.

Kurt dropped to the ground from the table he was balancing himself on top of. He gave his sore arms a brief moment to relax before Kai had forced him to repeat himself. So Kurt got back on the high horse and lifted his legs up into the air, while using his palms and arms to keep him suspended in the air.

As the young man was holding his breath from the pain of keeping himself in such a position, Kai circled around him to watch his posture. The form was important as the type of strength Kurt needed lied in his core and not solely on the muscles.

Once satisfied, Kai told Kurt to take a break, which came as a great relief.

While Kurt practically passed out from one of their tougher lessons, Ayla picked her head up from the sofa to see Kurt drenched in sweat. It was a little funny to see Kurt going all Karate Kid, which she had just seen the night before. She never really paid much attention to American films back home, but she kind of thought it funny as she compared the student/mentor relationships. Back to her main thought though, Ayla found it incredibly interesting at how much work Kai was putting him under.

Ayla took a sip from her Pepsi as she thought about it a little longer. If she hadn't known any better then she'd say that Kai was training Kurt to be a Guardian. That was impossible though since Kurt was way too wimpy and normal to take on such a role. Plus, Guardians pretty much always kept the powers within the blood. From what the Hunter could tell, Kurt didn't have a drop of Guardian blood in his system.

Well, unless he's been drinking Kai's blood behind her back. If he was going all vampire on them though, she would've sensed something by now.

Kurt held back the urge to throw up at that point as he tried to steady his breathing. Properly breathing was one of the most basic techniques that Kai had taught him, one that Kurt always tried to maintain mastery over. He knew was exhausted though from Kai's lessons, especially lately since he's noticed how much harder Kai's been pushing him. It didn't bother him, per say, but it made Kurt a little concerned why Kai was being this way.

Kurt could only assume that Kai had his reasons and this was all part of the training that he needed to undergo. But, just like Ayla, Kurt was wondering if Kai was putting him under strict Guardian training for a reason. Kurt thought that maybe Kai wanted him to be a Guardian, but he shook his head as that was too ridiculous of a thought.

There was no way that he'd be able to pull off such a thing. It made Kurt want to laugh just thinking about being made into a Guardian.

* * *

><p>(Orsino)<p>

"Is it ready yet?" asked Kingpin.

With the blinds drawn and the door locked, Orsino brought the Kingpin's attention to a diagram. Behind the spirit was a young man with black skin, a strong physique, and was exceptionally silent even amongst "friends". There was a specific reason why he was here, which was one that Orsino kept from Kingpin until the grand finale.

The diagram showed the plans that he had been building for the last couple of months. Kingpin had asked for a trap to put an end to their enemies, so Orsino developed just that. The spirit had developed the perfect plan to put a stop to Justice and anyone else that needed to be dealt with.

"Everything is set up," said Orsino. "We will lure Justice and his friends into this warehouse. Once inside, we will seal them in and all of our men will be let loose on them. There will be no escaping for them because we'll have over two dozen men there to put a stop to them."

A grin dangerously began to appear on Drake Valentine's face, but there was still a hitch to that plan. He had seen recordings of what Justice could do so he wasn't totally sold on this plan that Orsino he whipped together. "But how do we make sure that Justice doesn't dick slap all of my men?" asked the Kingpin. "We need a little more insurance that this will be his last showdown."

That's when Orsino began to grin as he turned back to his companion. The black man lifted his head up with an apathetic expression on his face. Orsino waved his hand to the man, signaling him to demonstrate just why the Kingpin should be sold on this plan. Orsino made sure to get a seat for this since the fireworks were about to fly.

The black man's eyes began to roll back as he began the show. Kingpin felt a soft ringing in his head that he thought he was mistaken until he noticed the veins on the black man's neck beginning to bulge. The Adam's apple expanded a little until the black man let loose his breath which released a sonic scream that shattered mirror behind Kingpin's desk. Luckily, the scream was focused so nothing else shattered in the process.

But that was far from being the end of their entertainment. The black man grabbed the desk and easily lifted it above his head without so much as batting an eyelash. Kingpin's eyes widened after seeing such a display of strength since that desk easily weighed over a hundred pounds. Plus, seeing that his mirror was completely done for and there were cracks along the frame, he was sold on this super powered freak.

Orsino applauded his associate as the black man returned the desk to its proper place. He straightened out the suit he wore, while remaining perfectly calm as his eyes briefly flashed to pitch black without Kingpin noticing.

The first of many, thought Orsino. The young man right here was only the beginning of the army that was being stirred up by the spirit. And tonight, they'd get to see a demonstration of what he could really do.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

"Quit hogging the TV."

"My parents bought it for me."

"Under the condition I moved in with you so share!"

"Never!"

Blaine and Sam were having their usual spat over the TV time. The roommates argued about what to watch on the 80-inch flat screen. Sam wanted to see Transformers, while Blaine was fighting to continue watching Gossip Girl in peace. Sam could only tolerate so much of spoiled, rich bitches going on about how drama heavy their lives were. But Blaine loved the show because it represented so much of his life since he was, after all, a spoiled rich bitch.

Considering his roommate had superpowers, one would figure that Blaine would back off. Even with all those superpowers, it wasn't enough to make Blaine piss his pants. Sam had to really give Blaine a good reason to be scared though. He had to use his strength to lifted Blaine up from the couch, while trying to snatch the remote while he was mid-air.

That still didn't stop Blaine from fighting him.

The two of them ended up on the floor with Blaine trying to hit Sam with a chokehold. Blaine went on about how he had Sam down for the count when he was caught off guard. Sam elbowed him in the rib, causing Blaine to clench his side which left him vulnerable to having the tables turned on him.

Sam rotated them around and pinned Blaine down to the ground. He graciously took his reward by snatching the remote from his roommate's back pocket then changed the channel. "Looks like I win again," Sam said, kissing Blaine's head. "You really should know better. Don't fuck with a superhero."

"You're abusing your powers!" said Blaine. "I'm going to call the superhero police on your ass!"

Sam rolled his eyes as he returned to the couch to watch his movie in peace. The movie was already almost over when Sam gained glory. He was about to see Optimus bitch slap Megatron when he got his own cosmic bitch slap.

Covering his eyes, Sam flinched as his mind was smacked by supernatural forces. He was blinded as he saw only whatever it was that was playing in his mind. What Sam saw was an empty warehouse that was slowly filled up with people. Once the place was full of blinded folded victims, a group of men came in and they were armed with AK-47s, which they used to slaughter every single innocent in there.

A heavy gasp of air escaped Sam's throat as he dropped the remote on the ground. Sam ran his hand down his face when he felt something missing from his hand. Then he looked back to the screen to see that it was back on Gossip Girl.

Blaine was whistling to himself as he sat on the floor as he had a remote back on his hands.

"You're lucky I have to go save some lives," Sam said, swatting him in the back of the head. He ran off to his room to grab his stuff, while thinking about calling Kai and Ayla. "Hate you, asshole!"

"I still win!" Blaine said, cheerfully. "Winning, bitch!" He went back to looking at the screen with a smile on his face. He sighed softly when Chase Crawford came on with a shirtless scene.

* * *

><p>(Kai)<p>

The Guardian watched as Kurt trained with the sai. It was a little amazing to see Kurt using those weapons with such fluid grace that it made Kai realize just how much potential the young man held within him.

Kurt cut the air with the sai as he performed the various techniques that Kai had been showing him. The young man dropped to the ground, rolling on the ground before springing back on his feet to stab the air with an upward thrust. He jumped around a few more times just to show off to Kai how much he's improved as well as for his own personal benefits.

After Kurt did a few more moves, Kai told him to stop. The Guardian helped Kurt up to his feet since he was a little too tired to move. He retrieved his sai from the young man then placed them back on their hooks.

"You continue to amaze me," said Kai.

"Thanks," Kurt said, retrieving his water bottle. "Now, why are you teaching me all these cool Guardian tricks? I thought I was just going to learn self-defense?"

"And you are," said Kai.

A little confused by what Kai meant, Kurt remained mostly silent about any questions that he might have had. He didn't want to be more of a bother to Kai then he already was. So he just packed his things up and took off to his apartment on-campus.

Once he was out the door, Ayla came out from her room with a cupcake in hand. She hummed along as she caught sight of Kai grabbing something from the kitchen. She would've harassed him about the cupcake he was getting when there was a knock on the door.

They both turned to the door with Kai answering it.

Sam was standing on the opposite side with a grave look on his face. Kai and Ayla didn't even have a chance to utter a single word as the blond beat them to the punch.

"We got trouble," said Sam. "It's time to suit up."

Ayla happily got changed, while Kai was silent as he got ready. Sam changed in the living room, rushing to get all of his clothes on before Kai and Ayla walked in.

Once they were all dressed, the heroes marched off to where Sam foresaw trouble brewing.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

Racing across town, the trio eventually reached their intended destination. They made it to the warehouses along the docks to where Justice had his vision of an impending massacre. Aware of the potential danger that they were about to face, each of the heroes were cautious with every step that they took. They were concerned of setting off a potential trap that could either alert their foes or lead to their own injury.

Justice was at the front since he figured that his foresight might give them some warning. The Guardian and Huntress followed him from the rear, each one armed with their weapons so that they'd be prepared for a rumble. There was no point in being reckless and they had all agreed to go for the immediate kill if necessary and proper. They were already aware of just how well-armed these men were, thanks to Justice, so it would be pointless to treat them too kindly.

Still, it made Justice uneasy at the thought of having killing people. His own personal morals couldn't allow such a thing, but the spirit that lived within him was a different story. The Spirit of Justice was strong and constantly pushing him for absolute justice, even if it meant compromising everything that he had been taught.

"It's in this one," Justice whispered to his companions. "Try not to make too much noise when we sneak in."

The Guardian and Huntress nodded their heads as they continued to follow the path that Justice had laid out for them. Justice broke the lock on the door with his super strength then quietly pushed the door open before checking to see if they were clear.

Once there was no immediate danger, the heroes began to enter the warehouse, unaware of the real danger that they were in.

All three of them strolled further into the warehouse, navigating themselves around the dozens of crates to spot any potential innocents. But as they kept on getting closer to the center of the warehouse, they couldn't see any other souls inside but them. This made them all extremely curious if this was really the place where the massacre would take place.

"Are you sure its tonight?" asked Huntress. "Did you get the date and address right?"

"I'm positive," said Justice.

The Guardian stopped the young hero from saying another word as he closed his eyes. While his companions couldn't hear, the Oriental man was able to hear a door opening up in the distance. In fact, he heard several ones opening up with several footsteps rushing inside.

"We have company," said the Guardian. "Arm yourselves well!"

In a matter of moments, the heroes were completely surrounded by the men from Justice's vision. Only the tables were drastically turned against them. The heroes weren't stopping a vicious massacre, they were the ones about to be massacred.

The men were all dressed in black and each one carried various weapons: some were armed with AK-47s like Justice foresaw, some had knives, some had smaller guns, and others wielded chains. Either way, it wasn't going to look pretty for them now that guns were brought into the rumble. It was easy to doge some chains and knives, but bullets required a greater deal of skill. Since there were so many of the men armed with guns that would make it all the more difficult for the heroes to escape from this unscathed.

Before the slaughter could begin though, a single man stood out from the crowd. He was dressed far more professionally the others as he wore an all black suit that contrasted nicely against his already black skin. He straightened out his collar, while baring a emotionless expression on that flawless face of his.

Justice eyed this man carefully, noticing something very odd about him. He wasn't like the other men in the room, but he couldn't exactly tell why.

The Guardian and Huntress easily saw through the mask. They both could tell what was wrong with him, but they didn't have the chance to warn their companion. The booming voice of the black man was strong and deep, knocking out their own pitch.

"It is with deepest sympathy that I have to hand you your execution orders," said the black man. "You have proven yourselves to be an annoyance to the Kingpin. He will no longer tolerate your existence, which is why the three of you must die on this night."

"Kingpin?" Justice said, softly. "Who the heck is that?"

"Someone who clearly wants us dead," said Huntress.

The Guardian was silent as he placed one hand on the side of his waist. He slowly dug into his pocket until he found something that would be of use to them.

The black man ignored the rest of their words as he turned to the men he had assembled behind him. "Kill them all," he ordered the men. "Leave nothing behind but their rotting flesh." He rejoined the crowd as the men that were armed with guns stepped forward. They held their weapons up and were just about to pull the trigger when the Guardian pulled out his own trick.

"Justice, Huntress, disarm them!" shouted the Guardian. He pulled out a small crystal from the pocket of his uniform and tossed it down to the ground. Oddly enough, the crystal shattered apart as it became a blinding blast of light that caused the men to temporarily lose their sight.

Exploiting the advantage that they had got, the heroes sprang into action while their enemies were still blind. Justice became a living blur as he charged after the gunmen and stripped them of their lethal weapons while knocking them down to submission in the process. Huntress moved with similar speed as she went after those that she could. She swiftly disarmed two men before pelting them down with their own weapons. The Guardian dashed into the heart of the battle, using his sai to slice apart the guns as his enchanted weapons easily had the ability to break through their metal.

A light growl escaped the black man as he fought through the crowd of soon to be dead bodies towards the crystal that the Guardian had smashed. Once he was close enough, he let out a horrid screech that blew all of the crystal remains away, thus ending the spell that had been cast. The suit turned his sight to see that all his gunmen were gunless, which greatly annoyed him as he decided it time to intervene before incurring the wrath of his master.

With eyes set on Justice, the largest of the sores, the black men found his target. He saw Justice round up fighting a couple of men at once that were way out of their league. Justice easily tore through all of their defenses and knocked them down with swift punches or deadly kicks to vulnerable body parts. Even one miserable bastard got knocked out by a head butt that hardly did a thing to Justice.

The Guardian and Huntress were hardly breaking a sweat as well, despite the large crowd that they had going. The two were ferocious fighters though so even though the numbers were against them, their training and skill provided a ground breaking advantage for them.

Huntress leapt into the air and caught her legs around one miserable fool. She launched herself towards the ground and using her arms for support, she launched him off the ground until he crashed into a couple of his buddies. She then leapt back onto her feet, retrieving a discarded chain that she used as her own weapon.

She swung it around a few times before smacking a guy across the face with it. He easily dropped down to the ground when another one of his buddies soon followed suit after getting smacked brutally.

The Guardian leaped on top of a couple of crates to avoid getting rushed by a few of the men. This saved him from getting stabbed while his back was turned. Using his slight leverage, the Guardian jumped back into the fray with his sai glowing as he turned around to slice away his incoming attackers. One man got slashed across the throat, while another lost a couple of fingers for being foolish.

As all of this on, Justice finished off a couple dozen men when his spidey senses began to get tingling. He managed to get up into the air just in time to avoid getting a chain thrown at the back of the head. Instead, another bastard got a face full of chain and probably got a fractured skull in the process.

Justice kept to the air when he saw the suit removing his coat. The black man tossed it carelessly to the ground as he began to roll up the sleeves to his shirt. This was a clear indication to Justice that this man wanted to fight him. So thinking nothing of it, Justice rushed in flight to knock this man down to the ground when the black man took in a deep breath of air.

When Justice was close, the man let out a incredible screech that nearly made the hero's ears bleed. The sonic force was powerful enough to blow Justice towards a nearby pillar that he crashed into with his back. The impact took the wind out of him, forcing the hero to land on the ground face first.

The black man let out a slight chuckle as he began to approach the fallen Justice. He latched onto the hero's body, easily lifting him up into the air before flinging him towards nearby crates. Even with his rapid healing, Justice was in for a rough landing as he crashed into those empty crates. His entire body was beaten up terribly the crates as he another crash landing.

Coughing up a little blood, Justice finally took notice to the beetle black eyes of this stranger. It finally hit him that he was facing another possessed superfreak. That would explain why this man was so much stronger than him, a powerful spirit was in control of his body. Justice had to remember that he bore a powerful spirit within him too, but the memory of what happened last time he fought a possessed person flashed into his mind.

Justice found himself blinded by thoughts of what happened to Artie that he lost all focus on the fight. This left his recovering body totally vulnerable to the black man as he drew nearer towards the heroes. Ready to unleash a horrid shriek, the black man prepared to attack when a broken chain was thrown at his head.

He stumbled forward, losing his breath for the moment, before turning back to see Huntress and the Guardian. The rest of his men had been beaten to the dirt. Those men were either dead or completely unconscious to where there was no hope for their assistance. Not that they were useful to begin with, but there was always strength in numbers even if the men in those numbers were useless.

"And so the fun begins," said the black man.

Huntress rushed him with all her might. She used her speed to her advantage as she tried to take him down with numerous kicks and punches. Her entire body moved with such momentum that it made her practically unstoppable, but the black man wasn't so easily fooled. As one of her punches was coming at him, he snatched her arm then smacked her in the face with his heavy fist. She stumbled backward then he easily brought her down with a roundhouse kick that could've snapped her neck had she not been a superhuman.

With two of them down, the Guardian was the only one left standing with enough strength to fend off their attacker. The Guardian had expected the possessed victim's attacks with the greatest of ease, his years of preparation granted him the foresight necessary to evade and counter. He effortlessly dodged through a blow that would've shattered one of his ribs then returned the gesture by swinging one of his sai forward. The tip of the blade managed to dig into the meat of the black man's forearm, granting him a slight advantage in their dance.

The Guardian knew that they were far from being over though as he was forced to avoid a few superhuman attacks. At least he was able to cancel out all that screeching by injury the man's neck from the chain. He understood that he only had a few more minutes at best before the nameless stranger recovered enough to let loose with the Banshee.

But he refused to surrender as he twisted his sai around to hopefully inflict a mortal wound on the black man. The Guardian got close with one forward thrust, but the possessed man was able to catch his arm then used this as all the leverage that he needed. A look of fear crossed the Guardian's eyes as he knew how vulnerable he was.

Luckily, Justice returned to break the two of them apart. He had finally recovered from all those injuries he sustained and was ready to put a hurting on their enemy. Fighting with as much speed as he had in him, Justice took on the possessed man to the best of his ability. He punched the man across the face several times before kicking him square in the chest. Throwing a backward elbow dive into the nose, Justice heard a nasty crunch that told him that he had broken something of his opponent's.

Blood was running down the face of the black man, but it wasn't enough to make him stop. The spirit that inhabited him found this entire thing to be utterly amusing as he went back into fighting against Justice. The man latched onto the hero from the back with his nails digging into the exposed neck in hopes of suffocating the blond hero.

With his breath slowly fading, Justice tried to break free and discovered he was unable to. As he was losing more and more air by the moment, he thought that he was about to die when the favor was finally returned.

The Guardian stabbed the man in the side with one of his sai, forcing Justice's release. Justice went down to the ground as the Guardian returned to fighting against the possessed man. If only he knew how foolish a mistake that had been.

As he was about to extend his sai forward once more to slash him, the possessed man was able to disarm the Guardian with a horrid scream. His weapons slipped from his fingers as the possessed man took advantage of this. With a wicked grin growing on his face, the possessed man took hold of the Guardian by his head before taking out a knife that he had retrieved from his fallen minions. Briefly catching sight of this, the Guardian attempted to break free when the knife was plunged into his chest to where a major artery was located.

This didn't go unnoticed by his companions as the world went completely silent for a moment. Justice and Huntress couldn't speak a single word as they watched the Guardian fall to the ground once he was released by his captor. Slowly, he fell to the ground until he was flat on his back and didn't move a single inch.

Finally, Justice let out a heart wrenching scream as he rushed towards his friend's side. "Kai!" Justice shouted with all his might. It was as if he believed that his screaming would actually do something to save his friend's life from the clutches of Death. Even though, it was obvious that nothing could be done for him.

But retribution was still sought.

While the possessed man was about to gloat the beginning of his victory, Huntress showed up behind him. She had tears running down her face, sneaking out from her mask as he remained completely unaware to her presence.

"Turn around, fuck face!" said Huntress. The possessed man did just this and as soon as he was facing her, Huntress had the Guardian's sai plunged into his chest. One of the sai had pierced his heart as the other went right through his stomach.

The sai let out an unearthly glow as light flashed all across the possessed man's body. The spirit within was torn apart by the sacred weapons, while the mortal was freed from his earthly shell. Either way, it ended with both spirit and man dying as the sai was still plunged deep into his chest.

Huntress was shaky as she fought to stand on her feet, looking towards Justice and the Guardian.

Justice had his friend in his arms even while he was bleeding to death. The young man had torn both of their masks off as he wanted to see his friend with his own eyes for the last time. "You can't die on us, Kai," said Sam. "There has to be something we can do. There has to be a way for us to save you. We need you, I need you."

A smile crept up Kai's face as he placed a chilling hand onto the young man's face. He could only shake his head as he attempted to sooth the sorrow that was ripping at Sam's heart. "I will always be with you, Sam," he said, fighting off Death for a few precious moments longer. "We will always be connected together, all of us. You must stay strong, Sam…the world…the world needs you."

Unable to fight off the inevitable any longer, Kai closed his eyes and surrendered. With his last breath, he wished his friends the best as he drifted off towards the next life.

Everything faded away with Kai's death. His soul, his spirit, his essence drifted off, but his body always crumbled apart into sparkles of diamond light. The light rose up into the air before leaving behind the broken hearted friends.

The sai too also faded away, taking the way the last trace of Kai with them.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

It was getting late and there was still no sign of Sam or the others. This worried Kurt as he sat in Sam's apartment with Blaine staying up with him. The both of them were concerned for the safety of their friends, but it was Blaine who was constantly reassuring Kurt that everything would be fine.

Neither one of them were even remotely aware of the tragedy that took place only moments before. They didn't recognize that the slight pain they felt in their chests was not one of concern for their friends, but at the lost of someone close to them. Kurt was terrified as he sat on the couch with tears threatening to come running down his cheeks if Sam didn't come through that door in a few minutes.

They waited for what felt like ages, but the door to the balcony opened up, which caused Blaine and Kurt to spring up in alarm. They spotted Sam coming inside with his uniform covered in blood with various scratches on his face. Ayla followed soon after him with her eyes becoming soulless orbs as she appeared in a similar state of distress as Sam. No words dared to cross from their lips as they wandered inside, leaving Blaine and Kurt to grow in concern.

Once they saw that Kai hadn't strolled in behind them, it only triggered more anxiety for them both.

Blaine swallowed down that fear as he stood forward to his approaching friends. From the looks on their faces, he could tell that this clearly wasn't going to be good news, but he still had to know the truth. "Where's Kai?" asked Blaine. "Didn't he join you guys?"

"It was a trap," Sam said, softly. "We…we fell for a damn trap."

"They surrounded us, we fought them off," continued Ayla. "Then this guy came, he was possessed and very strong. He took us all down without batting an eyelash." At that point, a choked sob escaped Ayla's will. She covered her mouth to hide the worst of it so that she could belt out the last bit. "He…he killed Kai."

Kurt clasped his mouth as those tears he tried to hold back began to run away from him. "Kai's dead?" he whispered. He closed his eyes, holding back the worst of his sobs as he also held onto his stomach.

Sam completely collapsed to the floor as he let loose his own tears. He slammed the ground with his fist, not giving a damn what damage he'd do the floor. All that he cared about was that a friend was dead because of him. Kai gave up his life just to save him, someone as worthless as him.

Head turned away and muttering silent prayers, Blaine didn't know what else he could do. He never had to experience such a heart-wrenching feeling before. He had never los anybody that he had remotely cared about before. His feelings were Kai weren't romantic, but he did care a lot about Kai.

The same could be said for Ayla as she sat down on the nearest chair. She buried her face behind her hands and hair as she wept for her dearly, departed friend. She had seen many good people die from their line of work, but losing Kai seemed almost far more dramatic. It may have had something to do with the fact that she had witnessed his death with her own eyes and not through the eyes of another.

Their friend was dead and nothing would bring him back to them.

At least Kai had died doing what he was destined to do, protect others. He gave up his life to save someone he cared for, which is why he was able to pass on without regret. That's what he said to Sam at least, but it still didn't fix the pain in the blond's chest.

Amongst all this heartbreak, they were all unaware of the slight draft that blew into the open balcony doors. The November breeze was cold, but it wasn't bone chilling, in fact, it felt awfully refreshing when one thought about it. It was a gentle caress that touched each of their skin, which is what caused their group to stop their tears for a moment.

When they opened their eyes, they saw Kai standing there. But it wasn't truly Kai though, at least, it wasn't him alive. Kai had an otherworldly glow that reminded his friends that he was truly dead now. This was merely a spirit who had yet to cross the bridge to the next life to where destiny would take him on his coming journey.

"How?" whispered Sam. "You…you died in my arms."

"Death isn't as permanent as one believes," said Kai's spirit. He turned towards Kurt with a smile beginning to grace his face. He held a hand out to the young man with his warmth continuing to radiate throughout the room. "I need you to do a favor for me, Kurt. Do you trust me?"

Kurt felt himself lost as he wondered what Kai could possibly be asking of him. But, deep down, the young man understood perfectly well what Kai was about to ask of him. It was so painfully obvious after all, this is the moment that he's spent the past couple of months preparing for. So without any hesitation, Kurt began to walk towards Kai with his hand extended as well.

For a moment, Ayla was lost to what was about to happen when it suddenly dawned on her. The reason why Kai had been pushing Kurt so hard and why he taught himself so much about Guardians was because Kai felt that this his time was coming to a close. Kai knew that he would need to find someone worthy of the power that was so precious to him.

"What are you doing, Kai?" Sam asked, still lost to what was happening.

Sam was about to jump in the way to prevent Kai from doing whatever it was. He was too late, however, as Kurt and Kai's fingertips had already touched.

An explosion of light illuminated the entire apartment, nearly pushing everyone across the open space. Sam had dropped down to his knees, Ayla turned her head away as she waited for the light to pass, and Blaine covered his face with his arms. The light was so bright and pure that no matter how hard Sam tired to fight it, he was at a complete loss as he was forced to succumb to what was happening.

The light faded after a moment until there was not a trace left of Kai's spirit. At last, he would be able to rest in the ether until it was time for him to pass onto the next cycle of life.

But he left behind a gift for his friends as their destiny was far from over. The young heroes still needed a Guardian to light their way so Kai had made them one. The purpose of reaching out the Kurt was so to give his friends the power and knowledge that they needed to stand up against the tide of evil. With Kurt, their chance for survival hadn't been crushed by his untimely death.

Sam was eventually able to see against after a few moment, which led to him spotting Kurt passed on the ground. Lying down on the spot where he touched the spirit, Kurt was dead to the world as an ethereal glow was wrapped around his body. But that is not what concerned Sam the most. What he spotted in Kurt's hands were a pair of sai, the same sai that Kai had once wielded in battle and the one s that Ayla had used to kill the possessed man that murdered their wielder.

It was then that Sam had understood what Kai had done to Kurt. They all understood perfectly well what had happened to the unconscious youth. Without saying a word, they were aware of the changes that they were about to face now that Kurt had been marked.

Kai had chosen Kurt to be his successor; Kai had made Kurt a Guardian.


	15. You're Still the One

**Author's Note:** Here's a lovely, new chapter for all you good readers. Expect another chapter this week. So read and review!

**You're Still the One:**

(Sam)

It was raining in the city, which seemed rather appropriate for the moment.

They all gathered to the rooftop of Kai's apartment complex where they held a private service for him. Well, it wasn't really a service; it was purely a memorial for their fallen companion. There was a picture of Kai inside a really nice, rustic frame that was now soaked in water.

None of them uttered a single word at first. They had been here for an hour now, just standing there, rain soaked as they looked at the picture. Words didn't seem to be powerful enough to convey the emotions that were brewing inside of them. They had lost a friend, a good friend who they'd give anything to have back.

But at least he left something behind for them. Kai had transferred his powers over to Kurt who was still recovering from that sudden rush of power. When Kurt had passed out the night before from receiving those powers, he had stayed unconscious for over an hour. Sam had been so scared that he lost Kurt too, but was relieved when he saw his boyfriend open his eyes.

Kurt was startled when the others explained to him what happened. The sai were proof enough that it was all true too. They were all having a difficult time swallowing the fact that Kurt was now a Guardian and that Kai was no longer with him. All that remained were his personal belongs and the training he had gave to his successor.

Sam had a hard time processing all of this. His goals were to keep Kurt away from this life, and now he was dragged into this world of crime, fighting, and spirits. Sam didn't want Kurt to be involved with this life, especially since he thought about everything that happened to the older youth.

There wasn't much that Kurt said about what happened either. Nobody could tell if he was excited, terrified, or disappointed to be made a Guardian.

Blaine stayed perfectly silent as he realized that he had lost a good friend. Granted, even after all those times flirting with him, Blaine wasn't in love with Kai. He always knew though that Kai was a good man and he was a good person to have around in his life. Losing him felt almost as bad as if it had been Sam.

For Ayla, she was fighting to hold back those emotional storms. She allowed herself to succumb to grief upon first losing Kai, which was natural, but she refused to display such grief again. It was unbecoming of a Hunter and she couldn't afford to show weakness like that again. But she did admit to herself that losing Kai was truly painful, she respected him as did the others.

"For Kai," whispered Sam. "May you rest in peace. You were taken from us too soon, it isn't right that your life had to come to an end." He swallowed down the pain in his throat as he saw the images of Kai in their last battle. He could see the evil look in that man's face as he stole Kai's life from him. "You saved my life, I promise that I won't waste it. I hope that in the next life that we will all be reunited again."

"Amen," said Blaine.

"We'll miss you, Kai," said Kurt. "I thank you for giving me your powers and protecting Sam. I promise that I'll become a Guardian that will make you proud."

"I'll watch over these idiots for you, Kai," said Ayla. "You don't have to worry about them. Just…just rest your head now. Your job is done, while ours is just beginning."

The friends gave out a final prayer for Kai before taking the picture and frame back inside and out of the rain.

* * *

><p>(Kingpin)<p>

So many lives had been lost fighting those idiots. Drake Valentine looked through the report that had been written down that detailed what had happened the other night. He was less than thrilled to see that half of his men were dead and the others badly injured, while Justice escaped with hardly any damage done at all to him.

The Kingpin didn't like being made a loser, which is why he stared at Orsino with such venomous eyes.

"You promised me that Justice would be dead," said Kingpin. "How is it that he still walks, while I lost good men to him?"

The booming voice of Drake Valentine would inspire fear to normal men. However, Orsino was far from being normal so that voice only proved to be an annoyance to him. The spirit could only roll his eyes as he prepared to explain himself, yet again.

But even considering this, Orsino was possibly equally annoyed by the failure that they were suffering from. The spirit couldn't understand why that his moronic servant couldn't kill the right person. He had specific orders to kill Justice, yet he failed and it had cost him his life. The mess that he made was what Orsino was attempting to clean, but it proved to be quite the filthy situation for him.

"As I mention before, it wasn't a complete waste," said Orsino. "The survivors have informed us that Justice was not alone, he had two friends accompanying him. They, too, also bore some superhuman talents, which made them more than a challenge for our men."

"Why didn't we know about these friends of his?" said Kingpin. "Didn't you do your research?"

"I did," Orsino hissed, bitterly. "Now, as I was saying, this wasn't fruitless. My associate did manage to kill one of Justice's companions before being killed himself. We struck a wound into Justice, he'll certainly think twice now that he has lost somebody potentially close to him. He wouldn't want to risk that happening to someone else or even to himself."

Kingpin began to understand this. He could see how they could use to their advantage as he decided that they needed to go above just killing Justice. They needed to find a way to unmask the young hero if he continued this pursuit of interfering in their business.

Orsino certainly agreed with Valentine as he told the Kingpin that he'd continue investigating.

What they needed though was a good trap. Orsino began to formulate a plan, already, that would help them in discovering just who Justice was. All he needed to do was dig into the past heroics of the young Spirit Warrior. And with any luck, he'll uncover something that will be of use to them.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

Once they had all cleared out from their memorial, Sam had taken Kurt back to his apartment by his school. The apartment was in Queens, but the school was in the city and was only a twenty minute commute on a good day. When it was one of those crazier New York days then it was a different story, but Kurt had a pretty good routine set up.

The single bedroom apartment was nice and cozy for one person to live in. Even a couple could manage living here if they really didn't mind the lack of space.

Kurt had a semi-decent living room that had enough space for two sofas, a TV, and a bookshelf. The kitchen was cramped so he was limited on the things that this junior chef could do and he only had enough space to fit about four people in his small dining room. Now his bedroom was a different story. It was directly connected to the bathroom and coat closet so this was the largest room in the apartment. This easily fitted his queen-sized bed, his dresser, a small bookshelf, and a small desk where his laptop rested on.

The room was a dull white, but it was something that Kurt could live with for now. He had to get approval from the landlord to paint it a different color and the guy was being a bit of a douche bag on allowing Kurt to do so. He had chosen a semi-blue shade that was both tranquil and inspiring all at the same time.

Sam entered the apartment with his hand locked in Kurt's hand as they strolled into the bedroom. Kurt began to take off some of his layers since it was a little chilly outside since winter was beginning to rear its ugly head. Snow was predicted to fall next week, but that would probably happen sooner if things got colder.

Kurt got on top of the covers and soon lay down on his side. Sam knew there was no point in speaking since he could tell that there was a lot of things going on in that head of his. He also had a lot of thoughts to think about now that Kurt was a Guardian.

After taking off the excess layers, Sam finally crawled into the bed with Kurt. He understood that this wasn't exactly any easier on the smaller youth, which is why he held him so close in his arms.

"Things weren't supposed to turn out like this," said Kurt. "I'm going to be on Broadway next week. I get to finally be in Wicked, now I have to be a Guardian even though I have no idea what this means." There was a tinge of regret and anger in his voice. Kurt wasn't cursing Kai for forcing this onto him since he did willingly accept this power and the responsibilities that came with it. He just doesn't understand what he was signing up for. "Does this mean I have to give up on all my dreams? Should I drop out of school since acting is pretty much out of the question? I have no idea what to do, Sam."

It was obvious that he was crying at this point. Kurt was choking on his sobs in a way that made Sam's heart uneasy. The blond did what any good boyfriend would do; he was there and he was being as supportive as possible.

Placing soft kisses against Kurt's neck, Sam attempted to sooth the quaking tempest that was brewing. He knew that if Kurt lost it that there would be no hope in bringing him back from plunging into the deep end. He needed to keep strong because now the world needed someone like Kurt to protect it.

"Honestly Kurt, I don't know what to say," said Sam. "What I do know is that you can't give up on your dreams just yet. Right now, you have your chance to do what you love doing. Next Wednesday, you get to be on a stage and you get to perform in front of a crowd. Even though you have an added responsibility, if there's anyone out there who can balance following the dreams and being a Guardian then it's you. I'll be there to help you too, I will do everything in my power to make sure that you can continue to pursue whatever path you so choose."

Sniffling back the tears, Kurt brushed away this less than attractive look. Once satisfied, he turned around to face Sam as he curled against the chest of his southern gentleman. "Why is it that you always know the right things to say?" asked Kurt. "You always keep me from falling off the edge." He pushed himself closer against Sam where the response was getting held tighter by the blond. "You're just so amazing, Sam, I can't stop thinking about how fortunate I am to be with you."

"I'm the one who is thankful, Kurt," said Sam. "I've been in love with you since the first day we've met. A life without you is like a life without breathing, it's impossible." He brushed away a stray lock of hair that he knew Kurt wouldn't be pleased had he caught sight of it. Leaning a little forward, he softly kissed Kurt's brow before pulling his head back. "For now, let's just worry about the present. We just lost Kai and you've just gained his powers. We have to recover from this first before we start to worry about the future."

"Right," Kurt said, softly. "Sam, will you stay with me tonight? I don't know if I can get any sleep without you."

Sam nodded his head, kissing Kurt lightly on the lips before pulling the covers over them. The moment that the warm blanket was on top of them and they closed their eyes, the young men were out like lights.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

The past week was a complete blur to him. Sam couldn't exactly remember what happened as he pretty much was a zombie in his life. Whatever he learned in class that week had completely escaped him, he didn't go out on patrol that week, and he didn't see Kurt really at all. The last one wasn't entirely his own doing. Since opening night was this week, it only made sense that Kurt drop off the radar.

After all, this was Broadway we're talking about.

Sam had cleaned himself up though since the show was premiering tonight. He made sure to take a good shower, he shaved the annoying stubble that Kurt hated, and he made sure that he appeared properly presentable. This was Kurt's big night, and Sam didn't want to be responsible for ruining it by looking like crap.

He left with Blaine and took off in a cab to the theater. The blond's phone was going off like crazy as he received frantic texts from Kurt about how nervous he was and how he couldn't do this. It took every trick that Sam had in the book in order to rein Kurt from going all psycho and possibly going all Britney Spears by shaving off all his head.

That was a look that Sam was certain that not even Kurt Hummel could pull off.

Once they reached the theater, Sam and Blaine strolled on inside as they got ready to watch the big musical. Blaine had vanished for a few minutes as he saw his fellow socialites and needed to greet them before any of the snooty bitches got offended. So Sam was left on his own, standing like a big, tall idiot in the middle of the lobby.

"Well, hello there, stranger."

Sam spun his head back and let out a joyous smile upon seeing some familiar faces. He was surprised to see Rachel and Mercedes, especially Rachel since she was supposed to be in California. He hadn't exactly fallen out of touch with his fellow New Direction mates, but it's been a while since he actually got to see any of them.

The few that continued to live in the city were rather difficult to get a hold of. It was a big city and people had busy lives. As for the others, when you're going to school in a different state that just makes it all the more difficult to stay in touch.

"Hey Sam!" Rachel said, hugging him.

"How are you, white boy?" Mercedes asked, stealing the next hug.

Once Sam was done hugging them both, he straightened himself up as he continued to smile. "I'm doing fine," he said, softly. "Here to support Kurt since it is opening night. I have to keep my fingers crossed to make sure he doesn't freak out on stage."

"So you've gotten his fifty million texts as well?" said Mercedes.

"I told him he had nothing to fear," said Rachel. "He was, after all, the only kid at the Academy who actually had enough talent to keep me on my toes."

Mercedes rolled her eyes, while Sam tried not to say or do anything. It seemed that not even two years and new surroundings could change Rachel Berry.

Sam found himself catching something out of the corner of his eyes. A couple flashing lights really made him curious; this is how he caught sight of a certain senator and his wife. He tried to wave at Mr. Hummel, but it was obvious that Kurt's father couldn't see his son's boyfriend in the crowd. But the Mrs. Hudson-Hummel was able to catch a glimpse of Sam and briefly shot a wave to him before being escorted inside to their seats.

Not long after that, everyone else began to flood the theater to get their seats. Blaine reunited with Sam and their new guests. It turns out that their seats were right next to theirs too so they all strolled on in together, ready to support Kurt's big moment.

They all kept their fingers crossed as the curtain was drawn and the lights came on.

Sam lost his breath after the first fifteen minutes passed and Kurt came on stage in full costume and makeup.

It was safe to report that nothing went wrong with Kurt's performance as he sang his brief verse and said his two lines. Sam and the rest of their companions fought not to jump up and down for Kurt. Unfortunately, Mr. Hummel didn't keep himself quite as restrained as he loudly applauded his son's performance.

"That's my boy!" said Burt Hummel, a little too loudly.

Sam felt embarrassed for Kurt, but luckily there was plenty of distance between them and the stage explosion was loud enough to tune out most of Mr. Hummel's applause. Now if Kurt still managed to hear his father, which he probably did, then that was a completely different story.

Either way, Sam knew that this would be interesting as he went on to enjoy the rest of the show.

* * *

><p>After his spectacular debut, Kurt had got invited to the cast party. Of course, Sam was expected to come with him as his date since there was nobody else that Kurt wanted beside him. Well, Rachel tagged along since she wanted to meet the cast and just absorb that terrific, creative energy into her own being. Sam knew that she was just a bit of a loon, but decided to make sure she never met Ayla.<p>

The Huntress might have thought that Rachel was really some possessed person and try to kill her.

Back to reality, the cast party was in Manhattan at the director's place. The director had a rather nice and expensive penthouse that easily put the place that Kurt lived in to shame. Even Sam felt a little inferior as he realized that he had no chance of ever affording a place like this without Blaine's parents' money.

Sam also felt a bit underdressed as he looked at what Kurt and everyone else was wearing. They were all dressed somewhat elegant and fancy, while he was just in a button up with a cardigan over that plus some fitted jeans. He gulped as he prayed that Kurt's cast mates wouldn't judge him for his simpleness.

The party was nice; everyone did seem to be enjoying themselves as well. Sam met some of the cast mates who Kurt was closer to, none of which included the big stars of the show. From what Sam could see, they were all fairly down to earth people who he could actually see himself hanging out with. They were also, like Kurt, grateful to have the small parts that they managed to get.

It was during this slice of humble pie that Sam had lost sight of Kurt. He took a sip from the wine he had as he tried to find out where his boyfriend had disappeared to when he heard that soft voice. He looked over to the stage where they had a karaoke machine set up that many of the cast and crew spent the night singing their drunken covers.

Right now, Kurt was on the stage with a microphone in hand. He appeared rather sober, even though he had a faint, red blush streaking across his skin. The eyes of the party were on him, some judging him terribly, while others were curious as to what he was about to do.

"I know more than half of you probably don't know who I am or really care, but there's a song I'd like to dedicate to someone very special," said Kurt. "He's been there for me since I was just a little kid, this country boy came into my life when I felt so alone and alienated by everyone. He brought the sun back into my life. He's always there for me and he is just the most amazing guy in the world. I love you, Samuel Evans. This song is for you, Tennessee."

Sam felt himself blushing terribly as he wondered just what Kurt was up to.

Meanwhile, Rachel was cheering for Kurt as a familiar song had begun to be sung.

"When I first saw you, I saw love. And the first time you touched me, I felt love. And after  
>all this time, you're still the one I love," whispered Kurt. He took in a soft breath as his soft words took a melodious form. "Looks like we made it. Look how far we've come, my baby. We mighta took the long way. We knew we'd get there someday."<p>

"They said, 'I bet they'll never make it'. But just look at us holding on. We're still together still going strong."

"You're still the one. You're still the one I run to, the one that I belong to. You're still the one I want for life. You're still the one. You're still the one that I love, the only one I dream of. You're still the one I kiss good night."

"Ain't nothin' better. We beat the odds together. I'm glad we didn't listen. Look at what we would be missin'."

"They said, 'I bet they'll never make it'. But just look at us holding on. We're still together still going strong."

"You're still the one. You're still the one I run to, the one that I belong to. You're still the one I want for life. You're still the one. You're still the one that I love, the only one I dream of. You're still the one I kiss good night."

"You're still the one. You're still the one I run to, the one that I belong to. You're still the one I want for life. You're still the one. You're still the one that I love, the only one I dream of. You're still the one I kiss good night."

The microphone went away from Kurt's lips as he returned it to the stand. The following applause was very encouraging, and helped to lift up Kurt's spirits as he found himself running over to Sam.

With open arms, Sam snatched Kurt up and the two shared a passionate kiss even as the applause had died out.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

It was finally time for Kurt to get out into the open. He was ready to join Sam out on one of his patrols in order to test the power that he had received from Kai. He had been training with the former Guardian for so long that Kurt was positive enough in himself that he could handle fighting off a couple of gang bangers or jewel thieves.

One thing was certain; he wasn't ready to fight possessed super spirits.

And in order to fight crime alongside Justice, the new Guardian needed proper attire to do so. Blaine came in handy once more as he brought together an outfit to go with the heroic persona of the new Guardian.

The uniform was a black suit that was tight fitted and inspired from ninja influences. Blue lines raced all along the sides of the arms and legs. There was plenty of padding to provide the Guardian with a bit of defense against sharp objects. He was also given a mask that covered all of his head with the exception of his eyes. And strapped to his waist were sheaths that he could stick his sai into when he wasn't using them.

It was certainly a new look that he'd have to adjust to, but the Guardian couldn't complain too much. The uniform was more then what he could've asked for so he graciously thanked Blaine for the help.

When they were done getting dressed, Justice took the Guardian out on patrol. Normally, Ayla would join, but she had fallen off the radar since Kai's death. She was grieving for their fallen companion by herself. For Justice, he could only pray that this didn't mean she was going to go out on the streets and get herself killed by being reckless.

So taking the liberty to keep his mind open to her, Justice and the Guardian made it to the rooftops to begin their patrol. Justice looked around for anything suspicious, while his mind remained opened in case of any visions decided to rear their ugly head.

The Guardian was shivering a little since it was a bit chilly out here. Even with the warmth that his uniform provided, the cold was still seeping in, which made the new hero a little bit anxious. If he wasn't so determined to be here to help out his boyfriend then he could have possibly bailed on him and gone home.

Not that he'd ever do that, but it was a thought.

Justice saw this and could only smirk as he pulled down his hood before removing his coat. He placed it on the Guardian as his back was turned before returning his attention to spot any kind of trouble. He didn't mind the cold so much since the spirit within him provided more warmth then he had prior to the accident. He did make sure to fix his sleeves a bit to make sure his arms were perfectly covered.

As the Guardian was about to mutter his thanks, Justice caught wind of something. He spotted something going on about a block away. His senses were tingling as he told the Guardian to hang onto him. The Guardian did just that, after returning the jacket though, and was soon whisked away as Justice took flight towards the criminal activity.

When they were close, they could both see that a group of girls were surrounded by a larger number of men. The men were armed with knives and threatened to do fowl things to the girls if they didn't get into the nearby building. The girls looked no older then sixteen, seventeen at best, as they cried softly and begged their attackers to leave them be.

The Guardian felt his blood boil as he pushed himself away from Justice and landed on the hood of a nearby car. His fall was perfectly graceful and he managed not to jack up his leg too badly thanks in part to hi supernatural abilities. Justice wasn't too far behind him, either. The Spirit Warrior landed in front of the car, putting himself between the men and the Guardian.

One of the men decided to laugh as he pointed his knife at the two heroes. "Look guys, its Batman and Robin," he said, laughing hysterically. "We should fuck up these faggots world!"

"Let's get them!" shouted another idiot.

The Guardian was the one who first sprang into action though. He completely caught Justice by surprise as he threw himself from the hood of the car and allowed his instincts and training to take over him. "We'll see who has his world fucked when the nights over!" he shouted. In a second, the two men that had been talking smack got their faces full of size nine boots.

The Guardian flipped himself back, landing perfectly with a smirk forming underneath his mask.

Justice couldn't help but to applaud him as he charged in after some of the other attackers. He grabbed the wrist of one and snapped it before throwing the man at one of his buddies. As one of the attackers tried to strike from behind, the young Spirit Warrior ducked down and managed to avoid the knife. He grabbed his attacker by the waist and threw him up into the air before springing back to his own feet to plant a nasty kick onto his would-be-attacker's ribs.

The man easily fell to the ground and withered about in pain.

Looking back, Justice could see how well the Guardian was doing against the last of them. Only two men were left standing and soon enough one of them was easily knocked down by the Guardian. He didn't even have to draw his weapon to take him down. He simply needed to tuck and roll then pushed himself back up as he used the ground as a spring board.

Once more, his boots found their way to the fact of his attacker. The man was down for the count as the Guardian turned to his final attacker. The man charged after him with a knife only to have the Guardian easily disarm him by a windmill kick to the hand. Without a weapon now, the Guardian pulled the man closer to him by his arm before throwing his elbow into his face which completely caused his attacker to blackout.

The girls were relieved to see their attackers were done for, but still they cried from the sheer terror of the experience. Justice, calmly, guided them towards someplace safer as the Guardian called the police from a nearby payphone. He was surprised to see that these things still worked as he informed the police of what went on.

A moment later, Justice returned and informed them that they needed to go. He carried the Guardian up into his arms before taking flight once more.

They went through another two fight together before Justice decided not to push their luck. In both fights they dealt with either wannabe rapists or muggers. It was simple enough to allow the Guardian to test his strengths without putting him out to pasture.

Justice was relieved to see that the Guardian had made it through all those fights without getting a scratch anywhere on himself. He felt happy to know that Kai had trained him well enough to defend himself and to avoid getting hit at all costs.

The Guardian pulled off his mask once they were safely on a rooftop. Kurt let out a deep sigh as he slid down against a brick wall with his breath being seen in the cold. His brow was covered in sweat and his body felt pretty toasty from all the fighting that they had done.

"What a rush," laughed Kurt. "I don't know how you put up with doing this every night though. All this adrenaline is about to give me a heart attack."

Pulling off his mask, Sam let out a light chuckle as he joined Kurt. There was plenty of sweat on his brow as well with his breath and laughter clearly showing in the chilly night. "You get used to it," said Sam. "I'm not as crazy as Ayla though. Now, she can go on fighting for the entire night, I can't do that."

"And why not?" asked Kurt. "You're so big, bad, and strong. You should be able to handle that."

"It's because I want to go home and sleep with you," said Sam. "The best parts of my day are when I fall asleep with you and wake up with you." Romance, nobody could be guilty of saying that Sam was retarded in the ways of love.

Kurt was grinning from ear to ear as he laid his head down on Sam's shoulder. He soon felt those strong arms around him, which caused him to sigh happily. "I guess it's true what they say," said Kurt. "There's no man out there that's more romantic than a southern boy."

Sam laughed at Kurt's joke as he planted a gentle kiss on his forehead.

* * *

><p>The night didn't end there for Sam and Kurt.<p>

Once they had changed into their regular clothes, Kurt got Sam to take to him back to his apartment in Queens. They went inside with Sam half-expecting just to drop Kurt off, but Kurt had other things in mind.

Closing the door behind them, Kurt discarded their uniforms as he grabbed onto Sam's hands and led him into his bedroom once more. Sam had a faint smile on his face as he willingly allowed himself to be dragged into the room. There was no point in kicking the door shut, but Sam did so out of instinct since they usually did this back in his place.

They closed the divide between them as their lips met and their tongues began to wrestle one another. Sam's hands travelled along Kurt's petite body with his roughness grabbing onto the covered flesh as he sought nothing but Kurt's warmth. A soft sigh escaped Kurt's lips as a similar sensation coursed throughout his body as he dug his nails into Sam's back, spilling out some dirty words.

Sam smirked as he got to work on disrobing them. In less than a minute, Sam had all of their clothes off, some of which had been torn during his act of aggression. Kurt laughed when Sam tore his own shirt in half, but was silenced the moment those pouty lips clasped onto his neck. It brought chills and thrills all over Kurt's naked body as his neck was being played with by the boy he loved above all else.

Kurt was carried to be where Sam now had him flat on his back. Sam took advantage of every bit of skin as he kissed and nibbled all over Kurt's body like this was their first time together. The pleasure brought by those lips and that tongue was enough to nearly make Kurt climax right then and there, but he restrained himself. He guided Sam by tugging onto his hair into the direction where he wished to be satisfied.

When Sam's lips finally reached their prize, Kurt gave out a startled gulp. Sam took Kurt's entire length into his mouth and used that skill tongue of his to stroke him fully. The suction brought by Sam's mouth was orgasmic to Kurt as he focused all his thought on what Sam was doing to him. He ignored the sight of seeing Sam bobbing on his dick and the way the blond hair fell all over the place, but the feeling was more than enough to send Kurt over his edge.

Then when a finger was introduced inside of him, it was welcomed without any difficulty. Kurt pushed to accommodate Sam's finger inside his ass which soon wiggled its way into his prostate to bring even more pleasurable sensations to him. Kurt was gasping for air at this point as he found himself unable to breathe from Sam attacking him from all sides.

And then it happened, Kurt silently uttered Sam's name and nothing else before reaching climax. His semen travelled into Sam's mouth, which the blond managed to swallow as four heavy jets shot out from his being.

Sam removed his mouth from Kurt's privates as well as his finger. He cleaned off the excess sperm from his face before climbing back up to kiss Kurt on the lips. The young man was a little dazed by the oral pleasure provided to him, but he eventually pulled himself together. Kurt spun them around so that Sam was one on his back with his longer erection and blond pubic hair sticking up into the air.

Kurt retrieved his lube from the nightstand as he journeyed down Sam's body. He made sure to take his time as Sam had done to him before they could begin the main event. Using his lips, tongue, and teeth; he teased many parts of Sam's body. Extra attention was paid to the nipples since Kurt was very fond of that part of him just as Sam liked to bite on Kurt's thighs.

Once he had his tongue satisfied of Sam's nipples, his kissed his way down those abs before he let out a warm breath against the straining erection. This brought chills to Sam, which made Kurt smile as he returned the favor. His mouth and tongue went to paying tribute to Sam's member as he sucked it with gusto.

Sam's eyes were rolling back as his words were a mixture of saying Kurt's name and alternating between saying "shit", "damn", or "fuck". Such bad language was unbecoming of Sam, but Kurt would let this slid since he was doing something special.

While this continued, Kurt poured some lube onto his finger before using his finger on himself. He continued to lube Sam's erection with his own saliva as his finger stretched him out a little. Once he felt satisfied both orally and anally, Kurt pulled away from Sam's dick. The sudden introduction of cold made Sam whine a little, which was soon silenced as Kurt used a lubed hand to stroke the erection.

Sam's muscles tightened up by this as he looked at Kurt with lustful eyes. Kurt had a similar look in his own eyes as he got on his knees then slowly slid down on Sam's full length. He was used to Sam being inside of him, but it always took a moment for the initial penetration to go through. Once it did though, Kurt felt lost in nirvana as he surrendered himself fully to Sam and their combined desire.

Sam bucked his hips up as much as he could from this position, but it was Kurt who had all the control. Leaning back a little with his own member struggling between remaining stiff or soft, Kurt began to ride Sam. He would wiggle himself back and forth as he lifted himself up before impaling himself on Sam again.

This went on for about five minutes with Sam letting out horny hisses and Kurt's sexual moans stained the air. In this position, even someone as inexperienced as Sam was able to hold out a little longer. But Sam wanted to take control of the situation a little, Kurt was willing to allow this since he wasn't the most dominate one in the relationship. As much as he liked teasing and making Sam beg, Kurt enjoyed having Sam take control more. And it was nowhere near the extremes that Dave had taken things, which made Kurt more than willing to surrender himself to Sam's love.

With a burst of strength, Sam got off his back and had them both floating off the mattress a bit. It was just enough so that Sam could get onto his knees as he supported Kurt by his waist, while the brunet had his arms locked around the blond's neck. In this position, Sam was allowed to thrust deeper inside of Kurt where he easily struck a man's pleasure button.

Even after all the times that they done it, seeing Kurt's eyes and skin sparkle as his prostate was stimulated made Sam's sexual prowess increase. Sam securely held onto Kurt as he tried to go deeper so to bring more satisfaction to his lover. The overall goal every time that they had sex, for Sam, was to bring Kurt to climax first. This rarely happened due to his inexperience, but the few times it did happen made Sam feel more confident in himself and his love-making.

And it looked as if it would be one of those times. Kurt was still floating on a post-orgasm high and this constant assault on his prostate was too much for him. Without even having to touch himself, Sam succeeded in bringing Kurt to a climax first. Kurt's essence coat both of their chests, which caused Sam to let loose with his own load.

Closing his eyes and uttering Kurt's name once more, Sam reached his climax. He shot about six ropes of semen inside of Kurt, which had he been a girl would've certainly led to a baby being made at this point. Sam couldn't help but to laugh, in his head, from that thought. He gave out a final groan as the last of his load was spilt and filled Kurt completely.

Before he pulled out though, Sam retrieved a pair of Kurt's underwear which just happened to be on the bed. He slowly pulled out and used the underwear to clean up the fluid that escaped from Kurt. A soft shiver escaped Kurt as Sam was fully removed from inside of him, but he still hung onto Sam to for support as he felt too weak right now to move on his own.

Once he finished with that mess, Sam used what little bit of the underwear that wasn't damp to clean their chests off. They were both in needed of a shower, especially now. They had already been covered in seat from all the fighting, which triggered the testosterone hormones to go wild that led to the sex. They were glistening in the stuff, especially Sam which made him look extra sexy and masculine to Kurt. Plus, it was rather toasty in the room thanks to the heater. But neither one was willing to get up from bed to do something about it.

The two simply collapsed into a sore, but energized heap with limbs locked together.

* * *

><p>(Ayla)<p>

Sitting alone on the balcony and staring up to the starlit sky, the young Turkish woman was drinking away the bitterness. She lived in the apartment that she once shared with Kai. Blaine and Sam offered for her to move in with them, but she had declined on their gesture. This had become her home so she would stay here until she was good and ready to go.

That wouldn't happen until she was dead.

Without even realizing it, she had made a joke in her own head. Ayla held up the liquor before allowing the burn to travel down her throat as she drank. This was completely going against the laws of her faith, but she was never a good Muslim to begin with. In fact, she was more of an Atheist than a worshiper of Allah, God, or whatever-he-wanted-to-call-himself.

But she was a fool though. She had actually gone to a mosque to light a candle for Kai, hoping that it would help him find his way to the afterlife. She also did it for herself with hopes that she might heal from this painful loss.

Ayla clasped onto the glass with both of her hands as she felt the condensation being sucked into her skin. The ice was slowly beginning to melt despite the fact that it was chilly outside. She let out a soft sigh as she brought the vodka back to her lips and swallowed down a swig of the stuff.

"This is good shit," said Ayla. "Where was vodka back when I was living with my parents? This could've gotten me through some tough times."

The young woman turned her head to the side to look at the empty chair beside her. Well, it wasn't truly empty. Sitting on the chairs was the picture frame that housed Kai's picture. Even though he was gone from the physical world, Ayla attempted to keep a piece of him there by speaking with his picture.

She wasn't ready to let go of him just yet.

Why though? Kai was only her friend, roommate, and Spirit chasing companion. There was nothing more to their relationship than that, but…but she had wished that there could've been more.

Ayla closed her eyes as she allowed tears to escape from her eyes. What a fool she was for not realizing it sooner, for not accepting her true feelings. She was in love with Kai, but it was too late to do anything about that. He was gone now and nothing could bring him back. There was no spell out there that could bring the dead back, at least, not one that would true bring the deceased back.

But there was one thing though that she could do. Just because she failed to say it while he was here that didn't mean she couldn't say it now. The Spirit Hunter turned to the picture frame and simply stared at Kai's image for a moment. So…here it goes.

"I love you, Kai," Ayla said, softly. "I miss you, Kai. I hope you're happy up there."

Tossing the rest of the contents of her drink onto the balcony, Ayla began to stand up. When she went over to take his picture, a warmer breeze blew in during this frigid evening. The sudden warmth made Ayla smile as tears swelled up on her again, blurring up her vision.

It seemed that Kai was still listening even in spirit.

Ayla placed a hand over her heart as she continued to smile before finally going back inside the apartment.

* * *

><p>End!<p>

Song: "You're still the One" by Shania Twain


	16. Evil Alliance, Trial by Fire

**Author's Note: **I said I'd get you another chapter before the week was over. This chapter is fairly insane and sets up the stage for the story's grand finale. Trust me, the last few chapters will be epic as Sam/Justice goes out to war. That's all that needs to be said. Read and review! And Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice, and anything else that you could celebrate!

**Evil Alliance, Trial by Fire:**

(Kingpin)

It was time to go out on the offensive. The month that followed the Kingpin's attack against Justice had caused the Kingpin to grow more aggressive. Justice had struck back by stopping a shipment of illegal drugs, which made the Kingpin easily lose about a million dollars. He could no longer bare this humiliation so it was time for the criminals to strike back.

Yes, the time had come for Drake Valentine to bring the fight to Justice. He still didn't know much about the hooded crusader, but he knew enough that a large enough crime would lure the hero from hiding. So he, along with Orsino, got to work on orchestrating a plot that would put an end to the existence of the hero.

The Kingpin knew that his men alone couldn't handle Justice nor could his numerous associates. So, it was only logical that they pooled together their very best resources. Between everything that the Kingpin had to offer plus the skill of his associates then they should have the power necessary to end Justice. The hero wouldn't survive a battle if he was attacked from all sides of the criminal pyramid.

Gathering his resources together, Drake brought them all to a private condo on the edge of the island. It was safe from eavesdropping since the criminal lord had control of the officers that patrolled this area. It was amazing how easily men would bend over backwards for him whenever he threatened the safety of their wives and children, and even the family pet.

The leaders of the various criminal families and organizations appeared before the Kingpin. Over three dozen men and women were present, ready to do their best to support their "high king" of New York.

"Justice has proven himself to be a thorn on all our sides," said Drake. "He has caused crime to drop twenty percent since he's put on his mask and he's lost us millions! We cannot continue to allow this freak to continue making a mockery of us!"

"Yeah!" shouted a few of the leaders.

"Let's string him by his toes!" said one leader.

"Let's roast the bastard!" said another.

The bloodthirst in each of them was beginning to boil over. Justice was a miserable subject for each of them as the superhero had proven himself to bring constant agony to them all. The hero and his friends brought nothing but trouble to the criminal leaders, therefore, something needed to be done.

Drake enjoyed how riled up his companions were becoming. He easily had them under his wing, which would make mobilizing them all the more easier for him. "Now, normal means cannot kill Justice," said Kingpin. "We cannot attack him one at a time. He is too smart and strong for that. So, instead, we must attack all at once!"

"What are you purposing, Kingpin?" asked one of the ladies.

"That is easy, Lady Wu," said Kingpin. "We start a war in the city. We spread so much chaos on the streets that Justice will have no choice to come out of hiding in order to stop it."

"An army of the worst of the worst," laughed one of the men. "I love it."

"I knew you would, Barbossa," said Kingpin. "So are we all in agreement then?"

"Ay!" said the leaders.

Kingpin grinned as he worked on the finer details of their plot. They needed to make certain that not a single stone was left unturned or else they risked utter failure. All of them were risking a lot by throwing themselves out into the open to such extremes. If Justice could overcome them then the criminal lords would lose everything. Even Kingpin doubted that he would be able to escape if things failed.

Orsino watched on with a great deal of curiosity as he saw his army standing before him. A devious smile appeared on his face as he thought solely about how he could manipulate all these souls around him. With their numbers and resources, the spirit would have access to everything that he needed in order to open the Door.

But all those plots would have to wait until another day. Orsino couldn't afford to risk suspicion, not when he was venturing so close to reaching his ultimate goal. He couldn't risk the unnecessary attention that came from his diabolical ambitions.

But his thoughts didn't enough though as Orsino took notice of Kingpin's heir. The middle triplet, Magnus, was listening carefully to every word that slipped from his father's mouth. Magnus was intent on continuing his father's legacy and becoming the most feared Kingpin in the history of the city.

Magnus refused to be the cause that shamed his name. Where his other brothers' were more concerned by business, or in Mika's case, the arts, Magnus was always seeking ways to shine. And what he excelled in was crime; he could manipulate and strike terror into anyone who dared to cross paths with him. He might have looked exactly the same as his fellow triplets, but his eyes were so much colder and wicked then Mason and Miguel.

It was this viciousness that led to Orsino's curiosity rising to new heights.

The potential in Magnus was too large for the spirit to ignore.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

Crossing their blows, Kurt had begun training under Sam now. The fairer skinned man didn't feel that he could quite handle the crime-fighting thing, despite his stellar debut, which is why he turned to his boyfriend for assistance. Sam was here to teach everything that he learned from Kai and to help get Kurt on his feet.

The past month had proven to be painful for Kurt as he got to the swing of things. Sam did everything that he could to help make this a smooth transition for Kurt. Becoming a Guardian meant that Kurt had a great responsibility to the world, even if he didn't fully understand what that meaning was.

They trained in Sam's apartment since they had the space for it and there was less of a risk of a noise complaint. Sam cleared out part of the living room to give them a bit more space, but it was almost unnecessary considering just how much space there already was. It was always better to be safe than sorry though, which is why Sam allowed himself to freely attack Kurt. Even with his sexiness being a bit of a distraction since Sam decided to go shirtless and wore only fitted shorts during the training, while Kurt chose a sleeveless top and a colorful sweatband to go with his pants.

Swiftly throwing his fist forward, Sam attempted to throw off Kurt's balance by hitting his shoulder. However, Kurt was able to catch Sam by surprising by snapping to the side and grabbing the blond by his wrist. A smile graced Kurt's face as he placed his hand on Sam's lower abdomen before flipping him over.

Sam's eyes lit up as Kurt managed to throw the blond completely over him. Sam was about to land on his back, but he caught himself and rolled to his feet once Kurt had released him. "Not bad at all," said Sam. "It looks like you got a kick of superhuman strength. That could come in very handy in the bedroom."

A slight blush began to take form on Kurt's face as he inched himself away from his boyfriend. "Maybe then, I should be the one who is the top," said Kurt. Granted, he had no interest in being the top, but he did like to keep Sam on his toes. It made their love life all that more interesting and exciting, which it appeared that Kurt managed to do. Sam had a certain sparkle in his eyes that meant he was no doubt picturing that image planted by Kurt.

Exploiting that moment, Kurt slide down to the ground and struck the back of Sam's knees. It was surprising, but Kurt was impressed that his pants were able to slide so far. Sam was forced to buckled down on his uninjured knee with the Justice Spirit responding by healing the damage caused by his own boyfriend.

Sam had to admit, Kurt was actually pretty impressive when he got into a fight. It looks like Kurt learned a lot more then he let on from Kai or at least all those self defense classes that he had taken. They clearly taught him so neat skill. That or Kurt's been watching a lot of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li movies.

Kurt kicked his foot forward, which Sam avoided by flipping himself into the air. He rotated his body around so that he was no behind Kurt who was caught by surprise. Deciding to exploit this opening, Sam got down to the ground and wrapped an arm around Kurt's neck with the grabbing hold of both of his arms.

"You're gonna want to tap out," said Sam.

"Not a chance," Kurt choked as he tried to speak.

But as that grip got a little tighter, Kurt knew he had to cry out uncle. There was a lot of fight in him, but Kurt's head wasn't allowing him to continue any further with this. It was only because the first thing that came to mind was Dave choking him during those abuse filled months.

Such a painful memory caused Kurt to jolt around, which Sam easily spotted and responded to. Sam immediately released Kurt from his old as he went onto attempt to sooth that cloudy head of his.

The light whispered that escaped Sam's lips were enough to snap Kurt out of it. Kurt lost concentration on Dave as he remembered where he really was. He was with Sam, he was loved, and he was safe.

It came as a relief to Sam to see that his boyfriend was back to normal now. He brushed those flushed cheeks with the tips of his thumbs as he let out a soft sigh against his neck. This opposing warmth made Kurt blush as his hands went to touch Sam's muscular chest, gently running up and down those well-defined muscles.

"I almost lost you there," Sam whispered to him.

"Yet again you saved me though," whispered Kurt. As those thumbs continued to touch him, Kurt truly believed himself to be safe and was able to release all that anxiety. The therapy he had went to was beginning to pay off as the breathing techniques spared him from going completely loony.

And, also, thanks to Sam, who was rewarded by a big kiss.

Their moment was ruined though when the front door opened up. Realizing that Blaine was back, the couple pulled apart just as Blaine's loud voice greeted them. Rich boy sauntered into the living room to spot Sam and Kurt covered in sweat and looking all flustered.

Knowing where this could have possibly lead to made an eyebrow rise as a result. Blaine began to tisk at them both as he dropped the mail onto a nearby end table. "You should be ashamed of yourselves," said Blaine. "You cant be doing that freaky shit here. We have company!"

At that moment, Blaine wandered off into his bedroom just as their guest came in.

Stevie looked at his brother and his boyfriend, immediately noticing what Blaine had been talking about. The younger Evans was busy closing the door so he failed to see what Blaine was yelling at them about until now. "Wow," said Stevie, "this was not what I was expecting to see. If I'm interrupting, I can come back in like three minutes." A smile began to crack along Stevie's face as he realized he just made an awful joke at his brother.

"Ha ha," laughed Sam. "You're hilarious. What's up, little boy?"

"Well, I wanted to hang out, Sam," said Stevie. "I missed my big brother, is that a crime? You said I was also welcome here and that you wanted to spend more time with me. You're the one who said that you felt like an asshole for not making more time for your baby brother since you let school, your friend, and boyfriend run your life."

"I don't run his life," said Kurt. "He just chooses to follow me around like a lost puppy."

"I didn't mean it like that," Sam said, trying to defend himself.

Kurt knew that, but he just liked to pick on Sam sometimes. He decided that it would probably best for him to take off since he did have some errands to do before patrol. Granted, he didn't mention the word patrol in front of Stevie. The codeword was party, it was always party because Stevie wouldn't question that.

After kissing him goodbye, Sam turned his attention back onto his brother. Stevie was sitting on the couch now with the TV on. He was staring at Sam with hopeless look in what seemed to be tired eyes.

Sam's brotherly concern began to kick in as he joined his brother on the couch. He put on his shirt to hide some of his stink as he attempted to get some answers out from the kid.

"What's wrong?" asked Sam. "Is everything at school alright?"

"School is fine, we have Sectionals next week," said Stevie. "It's just…I don't know how to explain it."

"Just speak," said Sam, "that's always a good place to start."

That made Stevie snort as he rolled his eyes at his brother. If only it were that easy, but he could at least give it a shot. "I don't know what to feel," said Stevie. "Since we lost dad and Stacy, I've felt so confused. I know it wasn't easy on you or mom either, but it always felt different for me. It felt like I lost a piece of myself before I even had a chance to know who that part of me was. And now, I keep growing up with that missing piece and I have no idea what this missing part of me is or why I should care so much. Everyday just becomes more and more difficult to bare. And now that you're not living with me anymore, knowing that you're not in the same house as me just makes it feel like its deteriorating even faster."

The way that Stevie snapped without any warning at all made Sam's heart bleed for him. Stevie collapsed into a ball of tears as he threw himself, willingly, against Sam's chest. Seeing him so broken hearted, Sam couldn't think of anything else to say or do so he just held him.

Sam had no idea that Stevie felt such things. He knew that his younger brother was moody and a bit over emotional, but he just assumed that was his teenage phase. It never occurred to him just how deeply scarred Stevie was by the accident that took their father and sister's lives. It only made sense though, especially when it came to their father.

The man who was supposed to idolize and love was stolen from him before he had the chance to forge any real memories with him. As for his sister, she was supposed to be the balance, the support, and even the fighter that kept the siblings glued together. Without either one of them, it had changed the entire family dynamics.

Sam admitted to himself that he had felt lost too, but it wasn't to Stevie's extreme. Sam knew who he was, while his brother…his brother couldn't even see who he was. He might not have the answers to the solution right now, but big brother had to do something for Stevie and he would.

* * *

><p>(Magnus)<p>

On the top floor of the company, Magnus went through all the information that he got from the meeting. His father and his numerous associates had something, truly, wicked in mind in order to deal with the Justice situation. Magnus reviewed everything in order to find some kind of flaw in the plan, which he truly hoped that he didn't see. They needed to be rid of Justice, permanently, if they were ever to move on with their plans for the city.

The young man scratched his head as he continued his work. As the heir to the criminal kingdom, Magnus took his work very seriously. Miguel and Mason were obsessed with business, while Mika and Melinda had their artsy, good-will work. Magnus was vastly different from his siblings, he was born purely wicked. His evil mind was so much stronger than that of his father, which is why he was so obsessed with his inheritance.

His ascension to Kingpin couldn't go off without a hitch. The middle triplet already had a plan in mind to remove his father from the equation and knew damn well that none of his siblings would dare to intervene. They were more fearful of him then their father because if there was one thing Drake Valentine wasn't, he'd never attack his own family.

Whereas Magnus had no such principal, anyone was a target to him.

But as Magnus plotted against his father, another was listening in carefully in that mind. The depraved thoughts made a glorious smile form on his face as he realized just how easy it would be to manipulate Magnus and bring the boy into the fold.

Orsino knocked on the office door, which caught Magnus a bit by surprise. The boy's plots would have to wait as he allowed his guest to enter. When he saw that it was Orsino, Magnus didn't know what exactly to think since he had almost zero interaction at all with his father's business partner.

"What can I do for you, Orsino?" asked Magnus.

"I wouldn't worry about me," said Orsino, "I'd be more concern about yourself, young man." The spirit gestured to the chair that was across in front of the desk, which Magnus allowed him to sit on. Entering the private sanctuary, Orsino began to intrude in the mind of the spiteful son that would grant him deeper access to his father's kingdom. "Now, as I was saying, you should be more worried about yourself. I know what you are planning, Magnus. I know that you plan on turning against your father."

If Magnus was a fool then he would've shown some signs of guilt or fear. But the young man was clever enough to contain an emotional response as he stared deeper into the eyes of Orsino. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Orsino," said Magnus. "I would never turn against my father; I am loyal to the family. Now, you, I should report you to my father for even speaking of such loathsome crimes! You are the one who seeks to turn against him."

Orsino could only smirk as he held back the urge to chuckle. The spirit crossed one leg over the other as he folded his hands in front of his chest. "Well, that is no lie," said the spirit. "I seek to destroy your father so I can get one step closer to achieving my vengeance." With such an answer, Orsino was able to lure an emotional response out of Magnus. The boy appeared completely surprised by Orsino's honesty, which dragged him deeper into this trap. "Yes, Magnus, I plan on killing your father in order to secure my own personal grudges. I am gathering an army, even as we speak, so I'm offering you a chance to become a part of my plan as a survivor."

"What do you mean?" Magnus said, softly.

It appeared that it was time for a demonstration. Orsino rose up from the chair he was sitting on and briefly cracked his knuckles together. "Your father didn't hire me because of my business skills or for connections," said Orsino. "Your father is a greedy man and desires to use my powers to his advantage." To prove this point, Orsino wave his hand forward, causing the desk in front of Magnus to quake from the psychic force.

Magnus pulled his chair back, but found himself unable to move. Orsino was restraining the young man to his chair and made certain that the chair was stuck as well. The spirit began to lift anything else that wasn't bolted down to the ground in order to better demonstrate his talents. However, this was far from being his true potential, which is something that Orsino planned to keep a secret until it was absolutely necessary.

Once he felt that he did enough, Orsino returned everything back to its proper place and freed Magnus from confinement.

"Now, what do you say, Magnus?" asked Orsino. "I will give you a fragment of my power to use to further your own plots but only if you work alongside me or must I destroy you now?

Without even a moment's hesitation, Magnus chose to work alongside Orsino. The lure of power was far too great for his mortal mind to resist, which is exactly the response that Orsino was expecting to hear.

And now, Orsino was one step closer to his goal.

* * *

><p>(Mika)<p>

Taking a bite from Gray's Papaya, Mika's tongue entered hot dog heaven. He wiped off the bit of chilly from the corner of his mouth as he walked over to his bedroom in the massive penthouse that belonged to his father. Technically, this was his home too, but Mika tried not to think of it as such considering the horrible things that his father and brother, Magnus, were involved with.

Every time that Mika came into the penthouse, he would have to bathe his aura into some cleansing smoke. Granted, he was risking some serious cancer, but he'd rather have bad lungs then to have his aura tainted by wickedness.

As his thoughts wandered off, the fact that Sectionals were tomorrow set off a couple of alarms in the boy's head. This was the New Direction's first major competition since over half of the team graduated. They managed to replenish their numbers thanks to their incredible win at Nationals last year, but Mika knew that even making it to Nationals would be difficult. He tried to believe in his fellow teammates, but only time could tell if they'd make it to the top again.

Before he made it into his bedroom, Mika paused outside his father's home office. Normally, he'd just run as quickly as he could to his bedroom and get away from any of that mess, but a particular word set the boy off. He had only caught a piece of it, but he heard his father mentioning something about Justice.

Curiosity being peaked, the boy hovered against the door for a moment or two to see if he could hear anything else.

Drake Valentine was on speaker phone, which made it even easier for Mika to listen in on.

"Is everything in place for next week?" asked Drake.

"Yes sir," said the caller. "We have gathered our numbers and are just waiting on the last of the supplies to get here. Even then, we could attack tomorrow if you so wanted to. They are all ready to go out and begin the attack."

"Not yet," said Mika's father. "There are still a few loose ends that we need to tie up. If we can't kill Justice then we will all be screwed. An attack this big will have some serious consequences if we fail to kill the hero. We are all risking exposure so I want our assault on the city to go off without a single hitch, am I understood?"

"Crystal clear, Mr. Kingpin," said the associate. "I will make certain that every loose end is tied up for you."

"Excellent, then that is all," said Drake.

The phone called ended at that point and Mika hauled ass to his bedroom. He didn't exactly care if his father had heard his footsteps because what the boy heard was so much worse.

In the safety of his bedroom, Mika was on the threshold of having a panic attack as his father's words flashed into his mind. Mika knew that his father was horrible, but attacking the entire city at once? That was on a whole new level of evil that made the boy completely nervous. Not only was the entire city in danger, but Justice was on his father's top priority execution list.

And Mika had no idea at all on how to stop his father from going through with this. The hot dog in his hand suddenly lost all goodness as Mika was on the verge of losing his mind.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

When next week finally came, Sam brought Kurt with him to see the New Directions perform at Sectionals. Kurt was completely excited to see how they were going to do since the team was at a major disadvantage from losing nearly everyone last year. Sam was there to support his former team, but he was also there for Stevie.

Since his brother's teary confession the other day, Sam knew that he had to be there for Stevie, now more than ever. It would be a challenge to help Stevie find his own identity, but the least that Sam could do was to be there for him. That was why he was sitting closer to the front of the stage with his mom and uncle there to also provide support for Stevie. Blaine ditched school so he was up to see how well the New Directions were going to fair, especially since they were going up against his Dalton Warblers.

There was still no sign of Ayla though. Sam had invited his friend to join them, but she failed to at least respond to his phone calls.

Kurt felt ecstatic as he sat on his chair, beside Sam. He had his arm locked around his boyfriend's arm with a dorky smile on his face. Sam couldn't help but to let out a chuckle from that look on his face.

After witnessing all the other performances, Sam had a grin on his face as he spotted Stevie in the wings of the stage. New Direction were up next to perform, so the long wait was almost over. Sam would get to see what his little brother and their team had to offer now that all the vets were gone.

The announcer did his job and New Directions came onto the stage just as the lights went off.

Nicky stood in the middle of a spotlight with a hand on her waist. She wore a black dress that had a very ragged, vintage rocker look. A single rose was in her hand as she began to hold up as if she were speaking to a lover. "Honestly what will become of me? Don't like reality, it's way too clear to me." Nicky held her rose up as she looked out to the crowd with a sorrowful look. "But really life is dandy. We are what we don't see, missed everything daydreaming."

The remainder of the New Directions joined Nicky as the entire stage was lit up at once. Sam could spot Stevie who was dancing beside Mika.

"Flames to dust. Lovers to friends. Why do all good things come to an end? Flames to dust. Lovers to friends. Why do all good things come to an end, come to an end come to an? Why do all good things come to end? Come to an end come to an…Why do all good things come to an end?"

Nicky gave out a soft sigh as she continued to hold onto her rose. "Traveling I only stop at exits." She grabbed onto one of the new guys, a black skinned youth who was a bit stocky and probably in his sophomore year. He spun Nicky around before disappearing onto the opposite end of the stage. "Wondering if I'll stay young and restless living this way I stress less. I want to pull away when the dream dies. The pain sets in and I don't cry. I only feel gravity and I wonder why."

"Flames to dust. Lovers to friends. Why do all good things come to an end? Flames to dust. Lovers to friends. Why do all good things come to an end, come to an end come to an? Why do all good things come to end? Come to an end come to an…Why do all good things come to an end?"

Mika snuck up behind Nicky, taking her rose from her and held it out to the audience. "Well the dogs were whistling a new tune. Barking at the new moon, hoping it would come soon so that they could." He censored himself with the rose before moving it aside to resume singing. "Dogs were whistling a new tune Barking at the new moon, hoping it would come soon so that they could…Die die die die die."

"Flames to dust. Lovers to friends. Why do all good things come to an end? Flames to dust. Lovers to friends. Why do all good things come to an end, come to an end come to an? Why do all good things come to end? Come to an end come to an…Why do all good things come to an end?"

The two singers, Nicky and Mika, got together once more as they delicately held the rose in their hands. Their voices rippled against each other, complimenting their vocals quite nicely as they gave it their all. "Well the dogs were barking at a new moon. Whistling a new tune, hoping it would come soon. And the sun was wondering if it should stay away for a day 'til the feeling went away."

"And the sky was falling on the clouds were dropping and the rain forgot how to bring salvation the dogs were barking at the new moon. Whistling a new tune, hoping it would come soon so that they could die."

A round of applause hit the New Directions, but they had only just begun.

Mika got rid of their rose, tossing it out into the audience which Blaine managed to catch. Mika shot his former classmates a soft smile before disappearing into the crowd with Nicky.

Once more, the lights began to dim down as one of the members of the New Directions stepped forward. Sam was surprised to see that it was Stevie who wore a black suit similar to the ones all the other guys wore. The only thing that he had that was different was the rosary that he wore around his neck with the cross being held up in his hand.

The New Directions backed Stevie up with some lighter vocals, giving him the space needed to introduce the song. Stevie got down on one knee, almost as if he were about to pray. "In to the night, desperate and broken," sang the boy. "The sound of a fight. Father has spoken."

Stevie's voice then began to boom as he sprang up to his feet and let his energy flow. "We were the Kings and Queens of promise. We were the victims of ourselves." He pulled briefly on his hair as he let loose the insanity, while everyone else danced around him. "Maybe the children of a lesser God. Between Heaven and Hell, Heaven and Hell."

Again, Stevie's voice got deeper as he let out his emotional words. "In to your eyes, hopeless and taken. We stole our new life through blood and name." Damien and another new teammate began to sing along with Stevie, strengthening his plea with their own vocals. "In defense of our dreams. In defense of our dreams."

Now, everyone began to join Stevie in the middle of the song. Their voices filled the auditorium with their emotional, vocal strength. "We were the Kings and Queens of promise. We were the victims of ourselves. Maybe the children of a lesser God. Between Heaven and Hell, Heaven and Hell."

"The age of man is over. A darkness comes at dawn. These lessons that we've learned here. Have only just begun."

"We were the Kings and Queens of promise. We were the victims of ourselves. Maybe the children of a lesser God. Between Heaven and Hell."

The rest of New Directions continued to sing the remainder of the chorus in the background as Stevie's voice sang over them all. "We are the Kings! We are the Queens!" Stevie's voice only grew stronger and louder as he gave it his all for the end of his solo. "We are the Kings! We are the Queens!"

All of the New Directions got together as they softened their vocals, ending the song with a few soft "oh's". They stood together, proud and tall as they had given it all for this performance. Win or lose, they all knew that they tried their best and that was what mattered the most to them.

With the song coming to a close, the New Directions cleared the stage after receiving a thunderous applause. Sam and Kurt were amongst those who gave a standing ovation for their friends who were keeping up with their legacy. But for Sam, he saw something else from this performance. He could see that Stevie truly had a gift to perform now that he was finally able to see his brother's skill truly for the first time.

So when the verdict finally came, neither Sam nor Kurt was surprised to hear that New Directions had came in at first and were going on to Regionals.

* * *

><p>(Orsino)<p>

Magnus had came through for the spirit in a big way. The Kingpin's son had done his research on Justice so to find some kind of weakness or a clue at uncovering his true identity. Justice's identity was safe, for now, but Magnus did uncover something that could be useful to Orsino, something very useful.

It's what brought him to New York State Prison.

Orsino walked into the building and was screened through security to the visiting area. He informed the guards who had wanted to see, which is what led to him getting an empty room for just their private talk.

They didn't keep him waiting too long. The guards brought in inmate 2782 into the visiting area wearing the traditional orange jumpsuit with the handcuffs on his wrists and ankles. Orsino looked into the eyes of the ragged looking youth and saw so much pain inside his soul, but also regret, which is something the spirit would have to squash.

He was sat down across from the spirit, still shackled up before the guards left the room.

"Who the fuck are you?" said the young man. "They said that my lawyer came to visit, but you're not him."

Orsino began to smirk as he crossed one leg over the other. He looked into the youth's soul, piecing together everything that he needed to manipulate this angry boy. "You're a smart one," said Orsino, "came to that conclusion all on your own? Well boy, my name is Orsino. I work for the Kingpin of New York and we're planning on destroying Justice. I was wondering if you'd like in on our plots, Mr. Karofsky."

Dave's eyes sharpened as he heard that name. Since his arrest, Justice was constantly on his mind, more so then Kurt. Dave felt horrible for what he did to Kurt and he sought redemption for that, but what Justice had done to him was a completely different story. He couldn't even think of finding redemption until after he ripped Justice to bits.

"How do you expect me to fight Justice?" said Dave. "I don't have any superpowers."

"But I can give you power," said Orsino. "Just swear your loyalty to me and I shall give you everything you need in order to have revenge."

"I need to get out of this place first," said Dave. "I'm no good to you in prison."

"Swear your loyalty to me first," said Orsino, "then you shall be free."

Dave nodded his head as he swore loyalty to Orsino, which was all that needed to be done in order to attain his freedom. Orsino used his powers to transport them both out of the prison, erasing all record within the building that Dave had even been incarcerated.

All while Kingpin let loose the hellhounds.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

It was utter madness in the city.

Time Square had become a warzone as criminals ran completely wild. The criminals were shooting up the entire tourist site with innocents becoming the victims to the Kingpin's plans. But of course, this was a fact that Justice was completely unaware of. He knew that the Kingpin was spiteful since the fight where Kai died, but this was something that not even he could fathom.

Nobody was able to escape from the barricade that was set up. The NYPD tried to get in to interfere but they were either gunned down or couldn't cross the barricade.

Justice arrived to the scene with the Guardian by his side. They could see the hell that was spreading throughout Time Square as innocents tried to flee, and criminals tried to kill the innocents and spread their terror. It was utterly disgusting what was happening to these people, the heroes needed to do something to stop all of this.

But there was just so many of them and there was only two of them. The Guardian counted about fifty, while Justice counted another thirty. That was only their rough estimate too. There could've been many more or less, it all depended on how well they counted these men in black suits, executing everything that got in their way.

When Justice caught sight of a child shot in the shoulder that was enough to set him off, causing the hero to leap off the building to enter the fray. The Guardian could only watch as Justice went onto his rampage. The hero landed on the ground, attacking the child's attacker in an instant. The man was completely disarmed before having his shoulder dislocated then getting whipped in the face by his own gun.

Justice saw that the child wouldn't die from his injury, so he raced to get the kid out of the warzone. There were so many more innocents to save that Justice couldn't afford to waste anymore time. The hero raced throughout Time Square in order to disarm as many of the criminals as he could.

The Spirit Warrior pummeled anyone that dared tried to attack him. He tore apart a nearby rail and began to use it to whip incoming thugs. He bashed a couple across the face, while others ended up getting jabbed in the ribs with his new weapon.

The Guardian knew that he couldn't let his boyfriend have all the fun. His own instincts kicked in as he jumped from the roof and landed in the middle of all that chaos. With his sai in hand, the Guardian sliced apart a couple of AK-47s with ease before slashing away at some body parts. None of his blows were deadly, but he did more than enough damage to make every one of those idiots cry out in pain.

The two of them were taking down as many of the men as they could. The numbers were just not in their favor, if only they had one more person to tip the scales into their favor.

Justice had his back turned just as a gunner tried to gun him down. The moment the trigger was about to be pulled, a foot kicked the weapon out of the man's hand. When the man turned to face his attacker, he was rendered unconscious the moment a fist smashed into his skull.

Justice spun his body around with a smile forming on his masked face.

Huntress picked up the fallen gun, taking off the safety as she winked at Justice. After all the grief and hearbreak she suffered from, she pulled herself together enough to be there to help her friends and the innocents. "Thanks for the invite, kid," said the young woman. "I'm going to have a lot of fun with this."

"Just try not to get into too much trouble," said Justice.

Rolling her eyes, Huntress went into the fight and began to shoot at the attackers. With only a few bullets, she saved a group of tourists that had been rounded up like a herd of cattle. Huntress got the tourists to flee as quickly as possible, while clearing a path for them.

There was still so many thugs, no matter how hard they fought it felt like more kept on coming out of the woodwork.

On top of one of the buildings, hidden from the police copters, Orsino watched on with a smirk on his face. He saw Justice as the teen actually removed a lamppost from the ground and used it to swat a group of Kingpin's thugs. The creativeness behind that move began to make Orsino chuckle as he attempted to tare his eyes away from the boy who housed a Spirit of Justice inside him.

Turning his attention to the others, Orsino easily identified Justice's companions as a Guardian and a Spirit Hunter. Such interesting friends made the spirit grow cautious as he swore that his colleague had killed the Guardian. Clearly, the previous Guardian had been smart enough to choose his successor from amongst one of Justice's other companions.

Interesting, that made things very interesting.

Huntress was out of bullets after gunning down over a dozen of the criminals. But not even thinking about discarding herself of the weapon, she turned it around and began to use it to bash some skulls in.

Saving a family of four, Huntress knocked out the two idiots that had tried to kill them. Well, one was dead since she completely shattered his skull and crushed his brain from that blow. A woman's work was never done though even after Huntress got those victims to flee.

The Guardian avoided getting his with a spray of bullets by leaping over a nearby wall. He hid behind the solid object, which protected him from the bullets and the taunts of the thugs. He waited patiently until the audible clicking informed him that they were out of bullets.

Looking at his bloodstained weapons, the Guardian carved a symbol into the ground, one that suddenly came to mind. He looked upon his own skin to see that he was vanishing from sigh as the symbol he created had turned him invisible.

The Guardian got out from his hiding place just as the thugs were reloading for another round. A smirk on his face, the Guardian began his attack on the thugs with his sai ripping their guns apart before he went straight for them. He grabbed two of the thugs then bashed their faces against each other before flinging them down to the ground.

None of them even knew where he was due to the invisibility. But his symbol charm didn't last for long. By the time he was down to the last thug, the symbol had faded, leaving him completely open to nobody.

"I'm not going to lie, that was pretty cool," laughed the Guardian.

Things were slowly beginning to calm down though. The worst of the thugs had been removed from the equation from the trio's fighting.

Justice was using his speed and flight to his advantage as he decimated the thugs that got in his way. He protected his friends and any innocents that had gotten caught up in all of the violence. He refused to let anyone get caught up in the crossfire as he saw what was going on by the barricades.

The police continued to try and break in, but were in danger as they were being gunned down by the thugs. This made Justice's blood boil as he thought about his uncle. So racing through the barricades, Justice threw all of the Hummers aside with his superhuman strength, thus leaving the thugs open to an all attack.

Now, the police were able to rush into Time Square to do something about all of the madness. The heroes finally had a bit of backup to clear out the rest of the garbage before anymore damage could be done to innocent lives.

Orsino's gaze continued until all of the fighting had been extinguished by the heroes and the police, but mostly because of the heroes. The spirit felt that there was no point in continuing watching the fight as he decided to disappear to further his own agendas. He did, after all, needed to get things moving along with Magnus and Dave.

By the time that Time Square was saved, injured innocents were sent to the hospital, and the thugs were dealt with; it was still madness going on. The new crews rushed to the middle of downtown to where Justice, Huntress, and the Guardian stood amongst the NYPD and the survivors.

One of the reporters turned to the camera with a microphone to her lips. Her report was being streamed live for the city, and possibly the nation, to hear. "A great tragedy was averted thanks to New York's heroes," said the reporter. "The city owes a great debt to Justice, Huntress, and the Guardian for their services in stopping the largest criminal attack in the city and saved the lives of hundreds of innocents."

* * *

><p>END!<p>

Songs: "All Good Things Come to an End" by Nelly Furtado, & "Kings & Queens" by 30 Seconds to Mars.


	17. Unmasking a Hero

**Author's Note:** Almost done, we only have three more chapters after this. I hope you all enjoy this chapter because this is where things are going to begin to boil over. Read and review.

**Unmasking a Hero:**

(Kingpin)

The kingdom was in ruins. The fallout from what happened in Time Square had serious consequences that would soon come into the light.

Drake sat in his office, alone, as he stared out into the New York skylight. The snow drifting down from the sky was supposed to bring a peaceful Christmas, but the holidays were far from being peaceful for him. His mind was ambushed with worry as he tried to figure out a way to get around the failure that happened weeks ago.

At least his identity hadn't been compromised. All of the crime families were in hiding now as they attempted to escape being detected by the police. The interrogation on their men gave the police little results, luckily, which gave the families some security. But it was only slowing down the wheel; Drake knew that he'd soon be attacked by the enemies that he had made. The families were not pleased by their results as Justice had overwhelmed their numbers with the assistance of his companions, this Huntress and the Guardian. The heroes were crowned royalty for the city for putting a stop to the Kingpin's plot. They were no doubt milking that for all it was worth, while laughing at him.

His weakness was beginning to show. He knew that it would only be a matter of time before his opponents would strike him down.

As he sat silently in the office, there was a light knock on the door.

Drake barely mumbled out a grunt that gave them the signal to enter. It came as no surprise to Drake that it was Orsino who had entered his office. The Kingpin paid little attention to the spirit, despite the fact that Orsino was the biggest threat to his criminal empire.

Orsino could smell just how vulnerable that the Kingpin was. This was the beginning of Drake Valentine's fall, which was opening the way for Orsino to rise up and strike as his back was turned. But that would have to wait a while longer; he needed to allow the rest of the puzzle pieces to fall into place. Drake was still somewhat useful to the spirit, which is the only reason why he hadn't sprung his trap.

"I got another dozen death threats for you," said Orsino.

"Leave them," said Drake. "I don't have the patience to go even look at them. I'm too busy trying to figure out the fault in our plan."

"Well, that's pretty obvious," said Orsino. He sat down in the chair opposite of the Kingpin with his legs crossed and his right arm supporting his head. He had the Kingpin's attention, but the man continued to keep his eyes out to the city. "The reason why our plan crumbled apart was because we failed to account for Justice's friends. They are each blessed with their own supernatural abilities that make them strong and worthy adversaries."

The Kingpin could see how that would be a major problem for them. The whole reason why he kept Orsino around was for his own supernatural gifts that the spirit shared with their soldiers. That power was the only reason why they were able to continue fighting against these super powered teenagers.

Orsino sat down and continued to watch as Drake was mindlessly staring out into the city.

Soon, everything would begin very soon.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

It was a beautiful Christmas Eve, one that should be going down on the history books.

There was a celebration going on in the Evans' household. Kurt and his family had been invited to spend the holiday with the Evans, which they graciously accepted. This proved to be perfect for Kurt since he didn't want to choose to spend Christmas with his dad or his boyfriend.

The happy medium caused a cheerful smile to remain plastered onto Kurt's face that night. The night was full of laughter, cheer, and good will in general.

Kurt was sitting in the living room with his parents and Sam's mom. Finn had left them to reunite with Quinn for the holiday. That was fine though. It did lead to some jokes being cracked on his expense though since he wasn't there to defend his own honor. Kurt couldn't help but to laugh because it was Finn's own mother who was ratting the Jolly Green Giant out.

With a thunderous laugh filled the air, Kurt took a sip from his eggnog. He took in his settings, checking out how Sheila Evans decorated her home for the holiday. The massive Christmas tree in the living room was beautifully decorated with white lights, red and silver ornaments, candy canes handing off the living, and an elegant Christmas angel on top. The rest of the home had a warm glow to it as stockings were hung up along the fireplace, supporting by stocking holders that spelt out Yule.

As midnight got dangerously close, it was almost time for Santa Claus to show up. Not that Kurt still believed in Santa, he wasn't like Brittany.

Sam came down the staircase with Stevie and his uncle, each of them carrying a stack of presents. The applause that came from Kurt, his family, and Sam's mom as the guys came baring gifts for them.

"Ho ho ho!" laughed Sam's uncle. "Merry Christmas, everybody!"

"Merry Christmas!" cheered everyone else.

Kurt pulled himself away from his dad and Carole as he helped the stack that Stevie was struggling with. He grabbed about half of the presents then brought them over to the tree when Sam grabbed him by his waist. The fair-skinned teen was whisked away from the tree until they were standing by the fireplace.

Sam pointed up to the ceiling where a piece of mistletoe was dangling from. Kurt rolled his eyes at just how dorky Sam was, but surrendered anyway to that southern charm. The two shared a very brief kiss because, after all, Kurt's father was watching them both like a hawk. Burt Hummel wasn't about to see his son being felt up and he didn't want to have a repeat of what happened with Dave.

But Burt had to remember that Sam was nothing at all like Dave. In fact, he had to get used to seeing his son so close to Sam, especially after what the Tennessee native had asked of him.

Everyone went towards the tree, waiting until midnight came so that they could open the presents. When it finally came, Stevie practically pounced on his gifts, but his uncle stopped him before that and made the youngest Evans distribute everyones' gifts first. Stevie followed his uncle's orders and passed the presents around before returning to his small mountain.

Then the opening began with everyone tarring everything open.

The Hummels didn't go present less; Kurt had brought his family's gifts over and the Evans got something small for them as well. Carole received a box of bath soaps, while Burt got a classic set of movies on Blu-Ray; luckily they were ones he didn't already have. They were small gifts, but ones that were appreciated nonetheless.

Stevie cheered as he got his 3DS from his mom and uncle. It was the blue one, which happened to be his favorite color and he also got Zelda with it. The young Evans was just as geeks as his brother when it came to video games, so even Sam was plotting on "borrowing" that game from his brother.

And speaking of his brother, Sam got Stevie to open up his gift from him. Stevie tore apart the wrapping paper with gusto before holding up a personalized journal. It brought a smile to Stevie's face as he thought about all of the things he could write into it.

Sam opened up his present from Kurt, which turned out to be a duplicate chain worn by an actor from his favorite video game. He smirked at Griever before he went into his pocket to get Kurt's special present. Kurt went utterly silent as he saw the small box and its red ribbon on Sam's hand, which everyone else in the room took notice to as well.

Kurt took the box and slowly began to open it until it was all the way up. His eyes lit up with a soft gasp escaping from his lips as he saw a ring inside. The semi-thick, silver band was looped around a diamond at the very center that looked expensive. Kurt was about to question the price because he didn't want Sam to spend all that money on him when Sam took the box and dropped down to one knee. It truly dawned on Kurt exactly what Sam was doing at that point.

"Kurt Hummel, I have been in love with you since the first day that I met you. I have always loved you and I will never love anyone else more than I love you. So please, will you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Jaws dropped as everyone awaited Kurt's reply. But, for the moment, Kurt had no words to say as he tried to process just what had happened.

Sam was about to close the box and take that as his rejection when Kurt finally made the move. He placed his hands over the blond's with a soft smile forming on his face and tears beginning to run down his cheeks.

"Yes, Samuel Evans," cried Kurt, "I will marry you."

If a person could suddenly explode, Sam would have done so as he wrapped his arms around Kurt with his boyfriend doing the same. Sam was knocked down to the ground with Kurt on top of them as they both laughed, happily about this serious change in their lives.

Kurt grabbed the box from Sam's hand and took the ring out of there. He held it up into the air with a joyful smile on his face as he turned to everybody else in the room.

"I'm getting married!" shouted Kurt. "We're getting married."

* * *

><p>(Blaine)<p>

The holidays were getting on his last nerves! Even with the trick that he played on his parents by bringing Ayla to their annual Christmas party as his date wasn't enough to lighten up the place. The penthouse was so stiff with all the suits here and it was practically suffocating Blaine to be here.

But these were his future business associates so Blaine was forced to tolerate them. Despite all of that though, Blaine could not stand a one of them.

Pulling his date aside, Blaine downed about half of the glass of liquor in a second. He let the drink burn down his throat as he laid his head on Ayla's shoulder. "I should've taken Sam up on his offer to join him for the holidays," said rich boy. "Why oh why do I keep letting my parents drag me into this shit?"

Ayla took in some of her drink as she tried to deal with the suits. She wasn't too fond of them either, but it was mainly because a couple of them tried on more than one occasion to grab her ass. "You're a spoiled brat who wants to keep the inheritance?" said Ayla. Not that she was much to complain. She did go chose to join Blaine out of the promise of getting a new dress, some new shoes, and some drinks.

This made Blaine roll his eyes since he couldn't exactly disagree with her. He drank the rest of his drink before plastering a fake smile onto his face in order to deal with all of his parents' buddies.

With him out of the picture, Ayla went to the bar to get herself a new drink. Despite the annoying and creepy, old men, she was actually enjoying herself. She was in a fancy New York penthouse, partying it up with a bunch of rich folk, and downing some very expensive food and drink. She was still debating with herself the best part of the night, but so far the food and drinks were on the top of her list.

The rest of the night was spent waiting until Blaine could get free from his family. Once he was free though, she dragged him out of there but only after taking a bottle of rum from the bar. If they were, at last, going to take off then they were going to do it in style.

They escaped the party with Blaine letting out a very deep sigh of relief as they got into the town car. The driver began to drive them back to the young man's place where they'd both crash out for the holiday, drinking and eating the rest of Christmas away.

Ayla held up the bottle of rum to Blaine, which he accepted gracefully. He downed about a forth of it before handing it back to Ayla who took another fourth on her own.

"Merry Christmas, Killer" said Blaine.

"Merry Christmas, Richie Rich" said Ayla.

The two of them relaxed in the backseat, watching as New York flashed by them.

* * *

><p>(Mika)<p>

It was getting a little late and he was feeling a little antsy. Mika left the Christmas party at some friend's place, now waiting in the lobby for his ride to get here. He whistled a Christmassy tune, softly, to himself as he glanced from his phone to the door.

The teen was so glad to get away from his family for the holiday. It wasn't exactly like his dad and brothers celebrated Christmas anyways, so this was a win-win for him. At least it was better than being stuck at the house and doing nothing.

Mika patiently waited until he heard the ringing from his phone. It was his usual driver, informing the young Valentine that he was ready to take the boy home. Mika got up from his chair and began to make his way out of the lobby into the cold New York night just as the screeching of tires went off in the distance.

Since this was New York, Mika didn't pay much attention until he heard that the screeching was close to them. He picked his head up and saw a pair of headlights coming down the road, but he didn't think anything of it as the driver held the door open for him. Mika smiled and thanked his driver as he entered the car with the door closing behind him.

But just as Mika sent his father a text that he was coming home, there was a massive thump on the roof of the car and the screeching of tires. Mika looked out his window to see something wet running down the window with his heart hammering against his chest as he failed to see the driver anywhere.

That's when he took notice to the car he saw earlier stopped behind him. A group of hooded figures escaped from the car and appeared to be armed with guns. Mika attempted to climb to the front seat in order to get out of there when there was a loud thump at the hood of the car. The boy gave out a sharp scream as he saw the body of the driver and the bullet hole in his head. Now the liquid made sense to him as he realized that it was the driver's blood. His driver had been shot dead.

Mika had barely got to the front seat when all the doors were opened up. The person on his side quickly grabbed onto him and with four men yelling at him, each of them carrying a gun. He was forced to comply as a man pulled him out before duct taping his mouth so that he'd be silent. Mika knew that he had no choice to surrender as he turned back to see the driver's body before being thrown into the trunk of the car of his kidnappers.

Heart continuing to pound against his chest, Mika was surrounded by darkness and cold as he tried not to panic despite the great danger he was in.

* * *

><p>(Orsino)<p>

The return to the normal routine after the end of the holiday was something that Orsino thought was a little odd. It had been centuries since the spirit was human and even at that there was no such anomaly that was present. Nobody got breaks; at best you were lucky to get the afternoon off from all that labor.

Pushing away all these bazaar thoughts, Orsino entered the Kingpin's office and took to his usual chair. He didn't think too much of anything though until he noticed a strained look on Valentine's face with a phone being angrily held in his grasp. Orsino thought that it had something to do with the usual death threats that he had been receiving. It was only when Orsino took the crystal from Drake's desk that Drake shot him an exceptionally vicious look.

Now this was strange, thought the vengeful spirit. He waited there until Kingpin was willing to open his mouth and spit out that tidbit of information.

"My son's been kidnapped," growled Drake. "He was taken last night on his way home with his driver murdered."

Only hearing the vengeful tone in Drake's voice was able to spur some familiar memories for Orsino. He turned to the single framed picture on the desk of the Kingpin, which held the images of all five of his children as kids. The smallest and youngest of the family was being held in the arms of his sister, another familiar sight for Orsino.

His own blood began to boil as he thought about what had been taken from him so long ago. The whole purpose of his vengeance was rising up into the surface, but those memories needed to be contained. The spirit had his purpose; he couldn't allow that to further muddle with his mission for revenge.

Still, the quest for revenge that Drake sought was all too familiar to Orsino. Those were the same feelings he held when those most precious to him were stolen by vile, loathsome creatures.

"And how do you plan on finding him?" asked Orsino. "You do plan on doing something about this."

"Of course!" Drake yelled as he slammed the phone onto his desk. He rose from his chair, face turning red as his nails dug into the wood. "He is my son, my youngest son. I will not allow those cretins to get away with harming a single hair on my child."

Orsino simply nodded his head as he gestured Drake to leave the office so he could get to work.

The Kingpin didn't need any motivation from the spirit to go off on his hunt. He wanted his son back and he'd make every single person who took Mika from him suffer a cruel and painful fate.

While he left, the spirit turned to the Kingpin's desk once more. Orsino went over to the chair where the Kingpin usually sat in and found an e-mail message on the screen of the computer. The message was encrypted so it was obvious that the people who took the boy were quite intelligent. The e-mail was simple though because it stated that they had Kingpin's son and that they would kill him if their demands weren't met on time.

It was standard, something things just never changed no matter how many centuries passed.

Orsino knew that it would only be a matter of time before the unthinkable happened to the boy. If there was one thing that the spirit knew was that history always repeated itself. The spirit thought about his own family that he had lost when he was still mortal.

A single tear began to run down Orsino's face as he remembered their voices. His beautiful wife, Leandra, the mother of his twins: his son Carver and daughter Bethany. They were once such a happy family, but that had all been ruined by war. The invading kingdom shattered his home as the soldiers took his family away from him in every way imaginable. This was all for his family, for the home, and for the life that he been so brutally stolen from him.

When he died, Orsino swore utter vengeance to the ones who destroyed his family. And it was because of this that he was so driven to open the Door that would put an end to all mortals.

Orsino would have his vengeance just as Kingpin sought his own.

It was the grand law of the universe. Out of all things, the only thing that was truly eternal was vengeance.

"An eye for an eye," said Orsino. "A tooth for a tooth. Justice can only be served through vengeance. And I shall have my revenge."

This was a promise that Orsino would die again to make reality.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

The blissful morning that came after such an amazing Christmas was one that Sam embraced with open arms. Well, it was more done with closed arms considering his current situation. His arms were currently being occupied by one Kurt Hummel, his boyfriend turned fiancé. That is what made this morning better then all the rest because they were now both one step closer to being a part of each other's lives forevermore.

And that made one Samuel Evans the happiest boy in the entire world.

He was so happy in fact that it kept him going throughout the rest of his day. Even when he got all dressed up as Justice to do his patrols around the city, the fact that he was getting hitched was a motivating factor. Just knowing that Kurt Hummel was about to be Kurt Evans or Kurt Hummel-Evans was fan-fucking-tastic to Sam. Heck, Sam wouldn't even mind becoming Sam Hummel so long as the rest of his life would be spent with Kurt.

But that was a discussion for another day. After convincing his fiancé that he needed to go out on patrol, Justice got a little serious in order to prepare for the night he was about to have. And what a night this would soon turned out to be.

It had started out pretty routine: a few muggings, a potential rapist, and even a drug deal about to go wrong. This was nothing out of the ordinary to Justice since this was pretty much everything that he had spent the past three years dealing with. Nothing could surprise him when it came to the typical civilian stuff, now it was the freakier stuff or the supernatural stuff that had always got him off his guard.

Then again, that whole attack on Time Square was pretty surprising too. But that crisis had, thankfully, been averted by the young hero and his friends. He was so grateful that they were able to put a stop to that mess before too many innocent lives were lost. It was bad enough that ten people had died, but that still wasn't too bad since there had been over seven hundred people present at the time.

But he was digressing a little too much; he needed to put himself back into what was happening right in front of him.

Justice raced across the rooftops and kept his mind open as he looked out for any potential sign of trouble. It was quite possible for anything to happen since, after all, this was New York and crime was no stranger to the city.

However, the hero never expected something like to happen. Not even in his wildest of dreams could he have seen this coming.

A bullet shot through the night sky and made Justice's entire body freeze up. Justice wasn't too far from where the gunshot had been. Thanks to his heightened senses, the hero took off running in the direction of where the gun had been fired. But instead of discovering a potential innocent, what Justice discovered was a trap in the making.

Justice stood on a once empty rooftop that was now surrounded by over a dozen armed men in these Men in Black type suits. The hero's mind was already racing on how he could take each one of them down in a matter of seconds, but something stopped him. Scratch that, it was someone who stopped him from moving by stepping out from the crowd of suits.

The man that stepped forward appeared middle aged, but seemed strong from his large frame and even intimidating in that power suit that he wore. This was the look of a ruthless crime boss that the hero had seen in almost every superhero and mobster movie.

"You're a tricky man to find, Justice," said the stranger. "You're always there when I don't want you around, but when I actually need you then I can't seem to find you. Its funny how life works out that way."

"Who the fuck are you?" asked Justice.

"The man that's not going to shoot you in the fucking skull despite the mess you've made for him," the stranger said, harshly. There was such a strong, bitter tone to his voice that even Justice felt a little uneasy by it. However, his stranger calmed down some as he ran a hand through his dark hair with his eyes locked on the masked hero. "I am the Kingpin of East Coast. I run all the criminal affairs, I even organized the Time Square Massacre in hopes of luring you out of hiding so that I could kill you."

"Bastard," Justice hissed, loudly. "You put all those people in jeopardy just to get to me?"

"Well, that horribly backfired on me," said Kingpin. "Not only did you stop my plans, but you also turned all the criminal families in the state against me. It's not safe for me to even be out here with you."

Considering just how evil this man was, hearing that bit of information made a smile form on Justice's face. It seemed that something good came out of the attack in Time Square if it meant that this King was getting dethroned. "Now, why should I care about you?" said Justice. "As far as I'm concerned, you're getting exactly what you deserve."

"I'd say the same thing if the attention was focused on me, but it's not," said Kingpin. "My new enemies have kidnapped my son, Mika Valentine."

Every bit of anger that Justice had for this man, instantly, began to melt into the ether just by hearing that name. Fighting to contain his shock, the hero could remember a picture that had been shown to him a few years back by one Mika Valentine. This Kingpin standing before him was none other than Drake Valentine, the father of his ex-boyfriend.

The Kingpin held up a note in his hand before approaching the hero and handing it over to him. Justice took the note and opened up to see that its contents contained a ransom for the same Mika Valentine that had a hold on his heart so long ago.

"They kidnapped him last night," said Drake Valentine. "It disgusts me to do this, but I'm begging you to rescue my son. He's an innocent in all of this; he never wanted to be a part of this life of mine so I did my best to keep him away from it. But now…now it seemed to be rather pointless."

"I'll find him," Justice said, without saying another word on the subject.

Throwing the note back at the Kingpin, Justice turned in the opposite direction. His foresight already allowed him to spot just where Mika was being held hostage in. He didn't have to do any snooping at all or turning to the Kingpin for any sort of help.

What mattered most of all to Justice right now was to rescue Mika before it was too late.

He couldn't allow the boy that he had been in love with, once upon a time ago, to perish if he had the power to prevent it.

* * *

><p>(Mika)<p>

There was a world of pain waiting for Mika as he laid on a freezing, cement floor. The boy's mind was half a blank about the past twenty-four hours but there was one thing he was certain of during his time in captivity. His left arm was very much broken.

Rolling around onto his side so that he could support his broken on his chest, Mika looked up to the stark ceiling. What happened yesterday went by with such haste that all he could remember was the massive bodybuilder who snapped his arm like it was a twig. Then there was so much laughter as the boy laid in bed, crying out in agonizing pain because of what his kidnappers done to him.

Oh, that's right, he had been kidnapped.

Mika lifted his head up as it all began to come back to him. He remembered that his usual driver was picking up when a car pulled up behind him, shot driver in the head, took him out of the town car, and dragged him into the trunk. The ride had been so cold and Mika had wore so little layers because of the party that he ended up passing out on the ride to wherever they were. Anything that happened at that point was a complete blur to him until he woke up in this empty, non-freezing freezer.

After that, Mika could see the cruel looks on his kidnappers' faces from when he was dragged out of the freezer by them. He had been unceremoniously thrown to the ground then beaten until he was black and blue before his arm had finally been broken. None of his kidnappers said a single word about whom or why they kidnapped him, it was all just silence and their sadistic laughter.

Now, the boy was once more carried out of the freezer by his kidnappers. They were completely silent as they carried him towards a dark space until the light hit him and he could see that he was inside a restaurant. There was the faint smell of something good, which triggered a very ironic portion of the boy's brain.

Italian food…he was kidnapped by Italians?

The Italians were always on the edge with his father so it began to dawn on him just who it was that kidnapped him. His suspicions were proven true when he was taken to a table where a long man sat, surrounded by bodyguards. He looked into the dark brown eyes of the man who sat there with his elbows off the table and his hands folded together. Dressed in an all white suit, the Don was dressed to impress, but his white suit was famous for being the execution suit.

Don Corleone was a balding, slightly overweight man, but still absolutely terrifying. He was the leader of one of the most feared crime families in the entire Northeast and easily made it to the top twenty list in the entire country. The only person that was above the Don was Mika's own father so that meant something.

"What a pleasure it is to see you again, Mika," said Don Corleone. "It has been too long. If I'm not mistaken, it was my oldest daughter's wedding."

"Sounds about right," Mika said, his voice cracking. He felt a little lightheaded being in this man's presence, but it could also have something to do with the injuries that had been inflicted upon him. Yeah, it was the injuries that had probably done this to him. "Why am I here, Don Corleone? What grudge do you have with my father?"

"The Time Square Massacre," said the Don. "I lost a lot of good men there: uncles, cousins, nephews. Those that weren't killed by Justice and his friends are so heavily locked up in the prisons that not even my connections can break them all free. I don't like being betrayed, and what your father did was so disgusting that it demands retribution."

Mika touched his forehead with his non-broken hand as he straightened himself up in the chair. He could see the bloodlust in the Don's eyes, which meant he needed to tread very carefully down these murky waters. "So of course that means taking something precious to him," said Mika. "Well, unfortunately, Don Corleone, you chose the wrong son. My father doesn't exactly care that much about me; I'm just the one that he uses to deflect bad publicity."

"And that is where you are wrong, young Valentine," said the Don. His food was brought to him, which consisted of a plate of lasagna. He paused at this point, waiting until his servers finished filling up his wine glass before speaking again. "We might fail to show it at times, but our children are the most precious things to all parents, no matter how fucked up in the head that they are. But you, Mika, you are especially important because you are the youngest. The baby of the family is always treasured as the one who needs the most protection because they are, usually, the purest of the bunch. And that is why we are sitting here today."

The Don paused once more, giving Mika a moment to reflect on this. The boy didn't, truly, believe in the words that the Don said, but it did make him second guess himself. When the Don's half-empty glass touched the table, he straightened himself up as he leaned towards the boy.

"Now," said Don Corleone, "if your father fails to bring you the ten million for your release then we'll send you back to him dead and in pieces. Does that sound like a fair arrangement?"

Before Mika could even utter a single word, the glass from a nearby window completely shattered out of nowhere. The boy and Don Corleone were pulled down to the ground by the bodyguards as they attempted to shot at whatever it was that broke in. Every time though, their bullets failed to hit anything though.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Mika began to pull himself towards the exit when a hand grabbed onto his ankle. The boy squealed as he saw the Don attempting to pull him back with a gun in hand. Mika felt himself freeze up as he stared at the gun, expecting the trigger to be pulled when it was kicked away by a boot. Then Don Corleone was pushed far away from the boy by someone with remarkable strength.

A smile crept up the injured boy's face as he saw that his hero was none other than Justice.

Justice carried the boy to an overturned table for safety. He warned Mika to stay right there as he re-entered the fray to deal with the rest of the trouble.

The hero leaped into the air and avoided the next spray of bullets. He had disarmed most of the bodyguards, but a few had some extra guns on them that needed to be dealt with swiftly. And speed was something that was very much on his side.

With that in mind, Justice disarmed the bodyguards with a couple of kicks and punches until most of them were unconscious at this point. The hero grabbed a couple of heads and smashed them together before finishing off the last of the guards with a kick in the face. The sudden impact was enough to knock a man down and fuck up the rest of his world since the kick hit him in the ear as well.

Justice saw that nobody else was standing, so it was able to make him to let out a breath of relief. He was beginning to approach where he left Mika when a gunshot rang through the air. The hero turned to see that Don Corleone was armed again and stood not too far from where the hero currently was.

"I'm going to fucking kill you, son of a bitch," said the Don. "But first, I want to see who you really are so when I kill you, then your mother might stand a chance at identifying who you are. Then it will make all of this so much sweeter."

Justice knew that he could take the gun away from the man and finish him off quickly, but he couldn't do that since Mika was so close to him. At least his back was facing where Mika was so that way the boy couldn't see what he really looked like.

Having no other choice, at least for the moment, Justice pulled his hood down. He then touched his mask and removed that from his face where it then dropped to the ground. Sam completely exposed himself to this man with a wicked grin growing on the Don's face as he got to see who the hero really was.

Mika turned away from his new hiding spot. The boy had dragged himself back to the kitchen since he figured that was safer and a better hiding spot. And from where he was, Mika could easily see the hero for who he really was. It made his eyes light up as he saw that Justice was in fact, Sam, the same Sam that he had been in love with.

Don Corleone's laughter continued to grow as he stepped only two steps closer to the hero. "You're still just a baby," said the Don. "It's such a shame that someone so young and handsome as yourself has to die." The Don cocked the gun and took aim straight at Sam's head to execute the teen with a single bullet left in his gun.

Right when the trigger was about to be pulled, Mika found his voice and shouted Sam's heroic name. This sudden outburst caught both Sam and the Don by surprise. The Don had turned his arm slightly to the side and fired his bullet, completely missing Sam as a result of Mika's actions.

Taking action from the distraction, Sam flew across the restaurant and took the man down. He drove his elbow into the Don's face, breaking his nose as well as rendering him unconscious as a result of this.

Wiping the blood from his sleeve, Sam's chest tightened as he turned towards the kitchen to find Mika standing behind him. In the boy's hands was his mask, which he graciously handed back to Sam with his good arm.

"You really are the best guy out there," Mika said, softly. "I can't believe that you're Justice."

"And your father is the Kingpin and wants me dead," Sam said, accepting the mask. "I today is just full of surprises."

"I won't tell him," said Mika. "I'd never tell my father about you, S…Justice."

Sam smiled as he put his mask back on to be Justice once more. He hoped that Mika would really keep his secret as he carried Mika out of this place and got to work on bringing him back to his father.

* * *

><p>"He should be fine," said Justice. "His arm is broken, but there appears to be nothing else that is seriously wrong with your son then some mental scarring. I arrived before anything else could happen."<p>

In the aftermath of Justice rescuing Mika, the super powered teenager brought the kidnapped boy back to his father at the agreed meeting spot. Justice was even gave out the details to just where he found Mika and who, to the full extent of his abilities, was behind the kidnapping. Despite Justice's sense of justice and the fact that this was a criminal he was working it, this was the right thing to do. A father had the right to avenge his child for the misfortunes that the child was forced into suffering from their captors.

As uneasy at this was for Justice to work with Kingpin, it had to be done for Mika's sake.

Drake Valentine stepped away from the bodyguards that he brought with him for this meeting. The back of his mind was itching at him to take Justice down now while the opportunity was present, but the small shred of morals that he had left pressed at him not to. For once in his life, Drake listened to his morals as he decided to allow Justice to escape from his hold, but just this once.

"You saved my son's life," said the Kingpin, "I can't thank you enough, Justice. This doesn't mean we're friends though. Tomorrow is another day."

"Then I take my leave," said Justice. "Bon voyage."

Mika looked up to his hero, his eyes only briefly meeting Sam. The mask melted away for just a moment with the boy only being able to see the friend that had been behind the mask.

Even with the pain shooting in his broken arm, this was all that Mika could see. He couldn't see the face of his relieved father or the stone-faced bodyguards. It didn't even dawn on him just how relieved that the bodyguards were that they weren't going to get executed for not being present to save the boy's life. None of that mattered at all as Mika thought solely about the young man who had rescued him from certain death.

Such a massive wave of emotion began to overwhelm him that Mika had to look away. It was all just so much to bare at this point.

The hero sped away from the scene, getting the hell away from the Kingpin as quickly as possible. He didn't want to be around the criminal mastermind any longer then need be, which is why he became a blur.

Mika turned his head back in the direction where his rescuer had ran off to. Now that he had seen what was underneath the mask, Mika could only see the face of the gorgeous and heroic Sam Evans. It was the same Sam Evans that he had been in love with a few years ago, the same one that he let go since their love wasn't true. And now, Sam saved his life, the moment that the boy needed the help the most in his entire life.

But now, he was facing the crossroads of fate.

It was painfully obvious that his father would kill to find out just who Justice really was. Mika had the piece of information now, but it was something that he'd never do because he could only imagine the cruel fate that Sam would suffer if his identity was revealed to his father. The boy was too good to allow such a secret to be spilt from his lips. But there in lied the problem, Mika's father was far from good. Despite Drake's efforts to rescue his son, Mika wasn't certain that his father would be so kind if he were to find out that his youngest son knew about who the superhero really was.

His father turned to Mika, seeing the poor boy in the pitiful state that he was in. It made his heart ache to see Mika far from being at his best. He went over to his son, helping his boy up as he ordered the bodyguards to get them to a hospital so that Mika could properly being examined.

Even with all this concern that his father had for him, the boy knew that it wouldn't last for long.

Mika's greater concern was for Sam and Justice that was what truly mattered to him.

Deep down in his heart, Mika knew that it would only be a matter of time before the secret came out. Of course, this would be done against his will, but it was bound to happen eventually. All secrets were bound to be forced to face the light at one point or another, but how and when were the parts that frightened Mika to the very core of his soul.

Mika didn't want to betray Sam; he didn't want to be the cause of his ex-boyfriend's pain. Mika knew that he had to do everything, and that meant everything, to guard Sam's secret from anyone who would hurt him.

This was promise that he would do anything to keep.

The ultimatum was just too horrifying for Mika to even think about.


	18. Double Crossed

**Author's Note:** I don't have much else to say other than read and review because I worked hard on this one for you! 

**Double Crossed:**

(Sam)

The months had been good to them since that ring was slipped onto that finger. Sam was lying down on Kurt's bed with said fiancé at his side. Their hands interlocked together with numerous weddings books scattered on the bed with them.

Apparently, Kurt had been planning his wedding for years. Before Sam even came to the picture, Kurt had been marrying off his Power Rangers together so many different times that he gave Fleetwood Mac a run for their money. It also made this wedding planning a little easier on Sam since Kurt knew pretty much exactly how he wanted everything. Sam didn't really care what the wedding was like; all he ever cared about was marrying somebody he loved with all his heart and soul.

Kurt held up one of the magazines that featured an article on gay weddings. They showed some pictures of appropriate suits for men that had caught both of their attention.

"What do you think about the white one?" asked Sam. "You do look good in white."

Placing his head on Sam's shoulder, Kurt took a good look at the suit in the picture. A smirk graced his face since he did like what he saw. "Wow, it does look amazing. I'll really look like a blushing bride in that," said Kurt. "And you should wear the black one with the green lining. It'll help make your eyes stand out."

Sam couldn't help but to laugh as he kissed Kurt on the forehead. He could always count on Kurt's good fashion sense to come to their rescue. "I love it," said Sam. "You know me too well."

"Well, I have known you for half my life," said Kurt. "There's nobody else I'd rather spend the rest of my life with."

"I feel exactly the same," said Sam.

Slowly, the two of them brought their lips together in a chaste kiss. Their hands and fingers continued to do their dance as the engaged couple stared into one another's eyes, feeling the greatest of joys. The magazine was long forgotten along with the rest of their wedding plans as the two allowed their passions to overwhelm them.

Kurt climbed on top of Sam with their tongues doing their dance for dominance. The two fought each other for this control with their backs rolling against the magazines and the mattress. Kurt moved his arms until they were around Sam's neck with his legs soon taking the blond's waist. He tried to keep control of Sam, but there was only so much one could compete against when your boyfriend, scratch that, fiancé had superhuman strength.

Sam easily turned the tides on them by flipping Kurt onto his back and keeping him completely down against the mattress. A smirk graced both of their faces as they laughed about the little fight that they had going on. Kurt kissed Sam on the lips one more time before lying flat on his back and continued to smile at his future husband who was between his legs.

Their passions rose up to the surface as the heat from their pants grinded against each other. They looked down to their tightening pants before returning their gazes back into one another's eyes.

"We really shouldn't," said Sam.

"Have to wait for the wedding day," said Kurt.

Knowing that it was the best thing to do, Sam couldn't find the strength to contain himself. His willpower was gone by the beautiful young man that was in bed underneath him. A similar feeling was hitting Kurt who felt his stomach turning into knots from not feeling the rest of Sam's special touch.

"To Hell with it," said Sam.

"Yeah, fuck it," laughed Kurt.

Quickly, the two of them began to rip their clothes off and toss them on the ground, where they were forgotten, as they completely succumbed to their passions. Love and lust had become one at the moment, making the young lovers surrender to one another. Kurt kept Sam wrapped around his legs with Sam hoisting Kurt up and easily slid inside of him.

Both of them groaned with heated lust and passion as they clawed against one another's flesh. The usual time that the two took with their love making was completely ignored as desire in its most primal of forms took over them both. It wasn't long until they were both panting in heated pleasure with eyes rolling back, toes curl, nails digging into flesh, and muscles tightening to signal their much needed climax.

With cries that could wake the dead, and half of New York, the couple collapsed onto the mattress as the sexual rush died out in the wave of the orgasm.

* * *

><p>(Magnus)<p>

The time that had passed since Mika's kidnapping had seemed like ages for the members of the Valentine family. Security was heightened around the boy in order to make certain that he was well protected so that nothing like what happened with the Italian Don could repeat itself. Mika didn't disagree with his father's orders and the men that Magnus had stationed around him. His protectors kept a close eye on Mika, always staying vigilant.

But protection was not the reason why Magnus watched him so carefully. No, the middle of the Valentine triplets could tell that there was something remarkably off about Mika since his kidnapping. From what he remembered from those psychology classes he took in university, none of Mika's symptoms seemed to be familiar with trauma. Mika was very defensive, always on his guard. None of it was relevant to the kidnapping; it was almost as if he had a secret that he was guarding from them all.

Magnus remembered what his father told him about Justice. The hero said that Mika hadn't been physically harmed other than a broken arm, which healed by now. There might have been some mental damage, but it was something else that was bothering Magnus. It was a secret; it had to be about Justice that much Magnus was certain of.

One idea came into mind, but it seemed too preposterous to be true. Magnus could only shake his head at the thought; despite how desirable it was as it danced inside his head. It was a possibility, a small one, but it was still a possibility. Magnus believed that Mika may have uncovered Justice's secret identity, but he needed to be certain of this.

Mika was a stubborn boy like the rest of the Valentines. Getting answers out of him wouldn't be easy and it would be disastrous for Magnus if his theory turned out to be false. So Magnus waited in the shadows, continuing to watch his brother for any signs of slip ups.

And it wasn't until Orsino entered the picture that Magnus became more certain of himself.

Spring was blossoming into summer as May was about to come to a close. Orsino had joined the Valentines for dinner one night in order to discuss some business developments that affected all of them. Well, it affected everyone except for Mika who had no hand in any form of the company other than spending money.

As usual, their father dismissed Mika from the table so that the boy had no part of their conversation. Mika gladly left the dinner table with his empty plate removed as he went to his bedroom for the remainder of the night.

Magnus excused himself as well by creating an excuse about files he needed to retrieve from his bedroom. There was no delay in his steps as he left the table and began a slow pursuit of his younger brother down the hallway. It was convenient that their rooms weren't too far away from each other in their monster of a penthouse, which helped to keep Magnus's cover.

Mika went into his bedroom with Magnus entering his own. Waiting in the corner, Magnus listened until he heard the water rushing down the drain. Mika always took a shower after dinner and they were always long. Magnus smirked to himself as he grabbed the files from his dresser then broke into his brother's bedroom.

Cunning as always, Magnus was able to break in without causing any disturbance. The steam was just beginning to creep into the room from the bathroom, which meant that Mika was inside the shower already. Still smiling, Magnus went over to Mika's nightstand to retrieve his laptop, which was still open. There was virtual diary on here, which Mason had uncovered once when he had to borrow Mika's laptop. He told Magnus in confidence, mainly because that was around the time where they discovered Mika's sexual preferences.

Scrolling through to the date of the kidnapping, his eyes were locked onto the screen. He read every single word on the document as he searched for anything incriminating. It wasn't until he reached the very end of the entry that he found anything that seemed remotely useful to him.

"And he trusted me," Magnus said, uttering Mika's words. "He trusted me and I knew that I had to protect him. My father will kill him if he had the chance. I cannot allow that to happen. He is too good of a friend to be murdered by my father."

Finding what he was looking for, Magnus exited out of the document and quickly cleared any traces of opening it. He returned the laptop to its proper place before sneaking back out of Mika's bedroom, long before baby brother had finished his shower.

There was a sigh of relief that escaped him for having managed to avoid any unnecessary trouble. And now, his reward was having a piece of information that could bring them closer to victory over Justice. It would also bring their father down from his pedestal in the Heavens, allowing Magnus to steal the throne.

"You took your time."

Magnus held his breath for a moment before recognizing Orsino's cold tone. The young man turned to the spirit with a devious smile on his face as he held up the files. "It took a little longer for me to get what I needed," said Magnus. "No worries though, I have what I was looking for."

Orsino raised a very curious eyebrow at the young man as he followed him back into the dining room where the Kingpin and his other sons awaited them. The spirit kept to Magnus's side with his head looking back only once to Mika's bedroom door. "And what were you searching for exactly, Magnus?" asked the spirit. "Did you retrieve the information that we needed? Does he know?"

"He knows something," Magnus said, softly. "He is willing to do anything to protect Justice from father. Whether that means he knows who Justice is or where he can be found is a different story."

"No matter," said Orsino, "either piece of information will be of use to us. The sooner we find out something about Justice than the sooner we can move all our plans along, which must be done quickly. The solar eclipse is almost upon us."

Magnus nodded his head, agreeing to rush things along for Orsino. They did, after all, only have so much time before they could spring their trap on the rest of the world. With the power that Orsino had promised him and the empire that would be raised, Magnus would do anything to gain all of that even if it meant killing his own family.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

Stevie was practically the living dead as he fought the urge to sleep during their Star Wars marathon. Since they moved to New York, Sam and Stevie always watched all the Star Wars movies, in order, around this time of the year. It was mainly done to help serve as a distraction from their upcoming exams, but it was also time that they spent together to bring them closer.

Now, the movies kind of got a little jacked since the prequels came out. It disturbed the whole order of their film festival, but once the series was completed they were able to fix that mess. So almost two days was spent watching the movies straight through without any interruption besides eating and going to the restroom.

They were about halfway done with A New Hope when Stevie got seriously hit by the snooze button. Sam couldn't help but to chuckle since he did have his brother at a considerable disadvantage. His finals were already done with so Sam had nothing at all to worry about, but Stevie still had all of his exams and Nationals was next week. The New Directions survived Regionals, barely, and were heading to Nationals which were in Orlando this year. So Stevie had a lot more on his mind then his brother did so rest was very much necessary. Plus, it didn't exactly help that Sam was superhuman thanks to the Spirit of Justice within his body.

Sam looked over to his brother's sleepy head just as he got a text from his mom. He answered it quickly so that she wouldn't freak out on them. Sheila Evans had been texting her sons every other hour since she was visiting her sisters thus putting Sam on Stevie watch. It was up to him to make sure that his brother was cared for since his uncle was also out of town for a seminar for work.

A light sigh escaped Sam's lips as he watched Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, and Han escaping from the Storm Troopers. He was beginning to feel a little sleepy himself, but he fought the urge to close his eyes with gusto.

Now that he thought about it, Sam had a lot on his mind as well. He was about to get married when the city was on the verge of a major meltdown. All this spirit stuff and the Kingpin and all the crime families going wild were bringing a serious wedge into Sam's personal life. The young man knew that everything was about to reach the boiling point soon. It was only a matter of time before the bubble burst as all these forces ewer threatening to tare each other apart.

And here Sam was looking forward to his summer vacation. It looked like he wasn't going to have that restful summer like he had originally planned.

"Oh well," mumbled Sam. "At least I'll be married to Kurt that's all that matters."

"I can't believe you're getting married, Sammy," whispered a sleepy Stevie. "You're like ditching me, don't ya? So much for being super tight brothers for life, now that you're getting married and will be too busy starting that a family of adopted Asian and African babies with Kurt."

Sam would have none of that talk in his home. Well, it was more Blaine's place since his parents were paying for it, but no matter! "That's not true," Sam said, defending himself. He pulled himself up from the ground and leaned on the couch until his hair was touching Stevie's scrawny chest. "Kurt and I are adopting American. We're going to support the US of A!" He threw in a cocky smile just for the hell of it, which made Stevie roll his eyes.

The younger Evans pushed his brother away from him, mainly out of frustration. He curled onto his side with a soft sigh escaping him as Sam made his comeback by crawling onto the couch with his brother. As weird as that could've been, neither one made a big fuss about it as Sam went against the curve of Stevie's body.

"I'm not going anywhere, Stevie," whispered Sam. "Yes, Kurt and I are getting married. Yes, I am going to have a family with him, one day. But you're also forgetting, this family isn't just us. My future adopted children will need an uncle who'll take care of them too. They need to feel a part of this family, which is where Uncle Stevie comes to the rescue."

"You say that now," said Stevie, "but it won't work out like that. Kurt is a bit of an attention whore."

"Don't be bad mouthing my fiancé," Sam said, slightly serious. "Sure, Kurt is a little demanding, but his heart is always in the right place."

"I know," Stevie said, his insecurities showing. "I just…I just don't like all of this change. I feel like I'm losing so much with each day that passes."

Realizing just how big of an issue this was for him, Sam pulled himself closer to his brother. He held onto Stevie with all his non-superhuman might and placed a small kiss on the back of his head. "You aren't losing anything," whispered Sam. "You're only gaining something. Our broken family is growing stronger and in numbers. We will always be close, Stevie, no matter what life throws our way. You're my annoying little brother for life."

A smile began to form on Stevie's face as he rested his sleepy head on the pillow. "And you'll always be my jerk of a big brother," said Stevie.

Sam got a laugh out of that as he released his brother so that he may fall asleep. Sam rolled off the couch to finish off the remainder of Star Wars before he too began to fall asleep.

* * *

><p>(Orsino)<p>

In his hands was a golden chalice that had long since been lost to the race of man. Orsino held this precious treasure for it was absolutely instrumental to all of his plans. Without this chalice then his plans stood no chance of reaching their summit. It was this chalice that stood as the key to what was needed to open the Door.

The Spirit of Vengeance could not help but to smile as he held this precious treasure up to his face. Everything was about to end as soon as all of the pieces to his puzzle gathered to the rooftop of the tower. He was already there, waiting and preparing for the main event that was about to take place here in the next few days.

Only two days remained before the beginning of the End of the World. Orsino relished in the thought as he held the key to opening up the Vault of Souls in his hands. The Grand Door would be unlocked during the eclipse and once the ritual was open then the Vault of Souls would open up to allow the spirits to overrun the world. Every last spirit that resided in the world beyond would be unleashed upon the Earth, even the good spirits would be freed.

But many of the spirits had grown spiteful during their time in the Beyond. Many like Orsino had changed into these creatures that were far more demonic than anything else.

It hadn't always been that way though, Orsino could still remember a time when he believed in all that was good in the world. He believed that Justice would always prevail and that the righteous would always come out victorious in the end. This was the philosophy that he held until the day that everything that he held to his heart was stolen from him.

The memory was all too clear for Orsino.

_He had just return from a hunting trip with some of the other men in their village. The weather was perfect and the animals had just had their offspring. Plenty of animals were out there just waiting to become their next meal. The entire village was stocking up on food of all kinds since a war was looming over the kingdom. A draft was almost necessary for all able-bodied men to fight against the opposing kingdom. _

_One would figure that their king would've done more to protect their village for they laid on the borderline of the kingdoms. But their king had failed to do anything to fortify the village. It was up to the villagers to support themselves in this time of great need. _

_When the men returned to the village, a messenger had arrived to warn them of the impending doom. The kingdoms had declared war against one another and their enemy kingdom had already begun to send soldiers their way. It was only a matter of time before the enemies were breathing down their necks so the village was at a great rush to protect itself and evacuating everyone who was unable to fight._

_But it was all too late, for when the village had begun to make its preparation, the enemy was here. The soldiers raided the village mercilessly. They were more demons than human from what Orsino could remember. The men…the men were wicked and cared not for any of the lives that they destroyed as they stormed through their homes. _

_There was no discrimination in the killings. The men of the village attempted to protect their homes and family, but the soldiers were well-armed and well-trained. _

_Orsino had tried to get his family to flee into the woods for safety, while he fended off the soldiers. His distraction had worked well though, he caught sight of Leandra taking Carver and Bethany into the woods. The three of them were so close to safety when tragedy befell the family. _

_All it took was one soldier, one soldier to spot them. Then a group of them befell the fleeing family right before Orsino's very eyes. Leandra had bravely stepped forward to protect her children, urging them to run into the woods as quickly as they could. Orsino made eye contact with her one last time before a soldier's sword severed her head from her shoulders._

_The children stood no chance at escaping that much was obvious. Orsino had rushed to their aid as quickly as he could and even managed to get close enough to beg the soldiers for mercy. He bled with all his heart for his children to be spared. Carver and Bethany were still children, barely eleven, so they'd be useful to the soldiers as servants or even slaves. Living, even in those horrid conditions, was still something that Orsino could bare compared to the alternative._

_But there was no mercy for his children. Orsino was held down by the soldiers and forced to watch these men kill his children. It was just a killing though, Orsino was forced to watch something far worse. He had to witness these men rape Bethany, while Carver was beaten ferociously. This sight brought so much pain to Orsino's heart, it had was only made worse as the children constantly cried for their father for help and to God to save them._

_At last, it all ended. The soldiers slit the throat of his children, breaking what little strength Orsino had left in his body. Watching them bleed to death was the most painful experience of Orsino's life and that became the moment that he swore vengeance upon everyone. All of humanity would pay for what happened to his family._

_His vengeance left his eyes red as the blade came to his own throat, ending his human life and beginning his next life as a roaming spirit._

What happened after all of that was kept a mystery for now. Orsino remembered his time lost on the Earth before finally being sent to the Beyond where he learned the secrets of the Vault of Souls. The demons and malevolent spirits that lurked about on the Earth and in the Beyond gave Orsino everything he needed to gain his vengeance.

"And soon it will all be mine," whispered Orsino. "Leandra, Bethany, Carver…my family, you shall at last have vengeance."

* * *

><p>(Mika)<p>

The next night, another piece to Orsino's puzzle fell into place, which made a drastic push for progress.

After finishing another round of rehearsal for Nationals, Mika came home feeling sore and exhausted. The hardcore dance lessons were really making his thighs and ankles burn, and his voice was fighting on soreness from all the singing. If he didn't get a good night's rest then he'd be completely burned out before they even made it to Florida. And he didn't even know how the state's humidity would affect him.

Announcing his presence, Mika was finally able to ditch the security. He slung his backpack off his shoulder and made a dash for the bedroom when his father's stern voice alerted him to trouble. The way he said his name was enough to inspire fear within the boy as he realized that either Mr. Valentine was pissed at him or he was involved with the reason for being pissed. Either way, Mika knew it was better to get this mess over with sooner than later.

Entering the living, everyone was practically present. Drake sat at his usual chair with Magnus, Mason, and Miguel close to him. Mika could already tell that this was really bad by just how silent they were with their eyes completely focused on the youngest Valentine.

The fact that his laptop was sitting on his father's lap didn't exactly do much to help the situation. Mika didn't even get a chance to utter a single word when his father completely snapped.

Drake practically jumped across the room and snatched Mika by his hair in less than two seconds. It had all happened so fast that the pain hadn't quite registered into the boy's head until a moment later. "What is this secret you're hiding from me?" shouted Drake. "What do you know about Justice?"

"Nothing!" Mika cried as his father pulled his head back. The boy let out a light scream as he tried to pull his finger's tight grip off of him. It was futile though since that iron grip was not going anywhere. Nothing Mika did was enough to loosen the hold that his father kept him in.

"You're lying," said his father. "Magnus found your journal. He showed me the truth. Now, tell me what you know about Justice? Do you know who he is? His weakness? His home?"

"I don't know anything!" Mika said, again. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell a monster like you! So you better kill me now!"

That very declaration made something snap within Drake, pushing him over the edge with his little boy. He released Mika's hair but snatched the boy by his neck and squeezed it to the point that he was choking. Mika was fighting for air, while his brothers were forced to watch the scene unfold.

Miguel and Mason were utterly horrified by what they saw. They were never that close to their younger brother, but they wouldn't wish a fate like this on anyone.

As for Magnus, well, his blood thirst blinded all emotion. Right now, in his eyes, Mika was not blood to him, he was just a bad puppy that needed to learn to obey his master. This was a similar train of thought that was going on through the Kingpin's head as he held his boy down.

"I won't kill you, but I will kill Melinda," said the boys' father. "So tell me, Mika. Is this secret that you're keeping for Justice more important than the life of your own sister?" The biblical cruelty in this man rivaled the Old Testament. This was borderline of a wrathful God, this was a man completely blinded by rage and anger that it completely erased all sense of decency. "Can you live with yourself, knowing that her blood is on your hands? You can prevent her death just by telling me everything that you know."

Mika closed his eyes as he tried to keep the last of his breath. He held onto for as long as he could, knowing that it would be the last one unless he surrendered to his father. In his mind, he knew that his father would never do such a thing, but today had proven him wrong. The man that his father had used to be was gone now, replaced by something far more wicked.

As far as Mika was concerned, his father had become the Devil.

Letting his tears run down his face, Mika knew that he had no choice. As great of a pain it was to his heart and soul, he knew that he had to save his sister's life.

"I…I…," uttered Mika. The weakness in his voice caught Drake's attention who finally released the whole that he had on his son. Collapsing to the ground, Mika coughed violently until blood escaped from his mouth as he tried to regain himself. When he did, the boy looked at the Devil with disdain in his eyes but gave him exactly what he wanted anyways. "Justice…Justice's name is…Samuel Evans. He's the same Sam that I used to date."

Selling his soul to the Devil, Mika could already see the consequences to his actions. But what other choice did he have? His father wouldn't kill him, he'd kill everyone that the boy cared about until Mika told him. It would all end in blood…but at least this way only the smallest amount of blood might be shed.

And the boy was hoping that now he might have the chance to warn Sam. If he could get just a simple text message to Sam that told him to run then he could save him from his father. But that opportunity wouldn't come for Mika. The moment that Mika had dropped his guard, Magnus had grabbed hold of him and drugged him with a chloroform napkin to knock him out.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

It was time to take off for school on the eve where Orsino was letting free the gears to his final solution. The people of New York and the rest of the world were oblivious to the vengeful spirit that sought that destruction of the entire world. He wasn't alone as Drake Valentine sought his own revenge against Justice, and he had already let loose with the gears that would start a war.

And it was all about to begin right now.

Sam had left his place with Stevie since they both needed to get to school. The elder brother had a "fun" time trying to get his baby brother motivated enough to get up from bed and out that door. It took a lot of persuasion, but Sam eventually got Stevie moving enough to get ready for school. They both made it out of there and were just about to go their separate ways when everything was about to make a big change.

Stevie waved his brother off as he went on his way. The boy was about to shoot a text to one of his school friends when the sound of a car coming to a screeching halt caught his attention. He looked up from his phone to see four men rushing in his direction.

Without even thinking twice, Stevie screamed at the very top of his lungs for Sam. He didn't have a chance though to get out of there because them ne were already on him. There weren't that many people on the street so the boy couldn't hide in the crowd, which left him completely open and exposed.

It didn't help that one of the men shot a gun into the air, further clearing the road. But not even that was enough to stop Sam from charging after his brother's attackers.

At least until the man holding onto Stevie turned the gun onto the boy. This forced Sam to completely freeze himself so that he didn't do anything that would risk getting that trigger pulled. Stevie squirmed in the grip of the man that held him with all his might, keeping him away from his brother.

"The Kingpin sends his regards, Justice," said the man holding Stevie.

Sam felt his heart sink as he realized that they knew who he was and so did the Kingpin. The only person who could've done this to him was Mika, which made Sam wonder what happened to him to do such a thing.

Stevie seemed to also be in complete shock by what had happened. This man claimed his brother to be the hero that had been saving the city for the past couple of years. But it had to be impossible, his brother couldn't be Justice, could he?

"What does he want?" growled Sam. "If you even harm a single hair on my brother's head then I swear to God that I will kill you all."

"Kingpin wants you to meet him on the roof of Valentine Industries," said the messenger. "If you show up alone and surrender then he'll let your brother go. And don't even try anything funny. Your brother won't be anywhere near the Kingpin, we'll be holding him someplace private where you can't find him."

"And why should I trust you?" said Sam. "I was supposed to be in the clear with the Kingpin for saving his son."

"I don't know what to say, Mr. Evans," said the messenger. "The Kingpin isn't fond of those who have been a constant thorn on his side. Even if you did do him that great service by rescuing his son, it still doesn't matter to him."

Sam felt his heart hammering against his chest as the other men continued to hold the guns out at him. He was forced to watch the other man take his brother away, locking him up in the car before the other men joined them. The blond scowled with his fists tightening up in the ball as he found himself completely powerless.

Stevie turned out the window, still confused by everything that was happening as a gun continued to be pointed at his head. There were obvious tears running down his face, which made everything all the more painful for Sam.

Even as the car disappeared down the road, it took everything that Sam had not to chase after them. He couldn't risk his brother's life. But he didn't know what he could do besides tarring every building down in order to rescue him.

* * *

><p>(Blaine)<p>

They all stood in the apartment, waiting for any word to come out from Sam's mouth. He was utterly silent as he continued to stare out the broken window with his hands still stained by his own blood. His face was beet red as all that anger was boiling up to the surface by what the Kingpin had done to him.

Ayla and Kurt had just shown up not that long ago after Blaine had called them. It took every bit of his skills with rhetoric to get Sam not to jump out that window and tare that building apart. Blaine was able to with strain Sam, but it would only last for so long without Kurt present.

Stevie had been taken by the Kingpin's men. Sam wasn't going to wait long before going after that miserable bastard and all of his men.

"Did they till you where Stevie is?" asked Kurt.

The fuming hero gave out the information to the others. He told them how Kingpin's messenger said they would hold Stevie someplace far away from the Kingpin. His baby brother would only be released if Sam surrendered himself to the Kingpin at the headquarters of Valentine Industry.

A light snort escaped Ayla's mouth as she dropped herself onto the sofa. She slumped her shoulders down to the side as she pulled her knife out and began to play with it. "You are aware that Kingpin won't play fair?" said the Spirit Hunter. "If he really is the one who is behind all of this then this is all just a trap. You surrender yourself to him and he'll probably end up killing Stevie either way."

"I can't be at two places at once either," said Sam. "If I go to Stevie then I could put him in more danger then if I went straight to the Kingpin."

There was a Eureka moment that hit Blaine like a lightning bolt. He practically shot out of his own body as he jumped in front of Sam and the other heroes. "What if you could be at two places at once?" asked Blaine. "I'm not saying that you literary have to be in two places at once. You go to Kingpin, while Ayla and Kurt go after Stevie."

"Then we all get back together for the final showdown," said Kurt. "That's actually fairly brilliant, Blaine."

"Kingpin would probably expect it," snorted Ayla. "But it could be some serious fun. We'll kick a little ass and take some names."

Sam was surprised by just how well his friends were willing to stand by him. Considering everything that they went through and the last time they fell for one of Kingpin's traps was less than stellar. Kai had died the last time, something just as horrible or worse could happen to them again if they weren't cautious.

He couldn't bare if it he lost another friend to this monster, but it would utterly destroy him to lose his brother. He swore that he would never lose anyone his family without fighting to save them and that's exactly what he was going to do.

The heroes knew what they were going to do and Blaine knew his place in this equation.

Aware that the penthouse was too dangerous to be in, Blaine was going to hide in Kurt's apartment. It was safer since Sam had never personally gone through the front door, the young hero always snuck there on the rooftop. With any luck, nobody knew just how well connected Sam was to Kurt, which meant the apartment would still be safe.

Sam's home was just too dangerous of a place and Blaine's parents' place wasn't exactly much better right now.

Blaine said farewell to his friends, which could very well be the last time he saw some of them. As much as he hated himself to admit this, Blaine knew that this might not end well, especially for Sam.

Hugging him like he would a brother, Blaine threw himself onto Sam. He squeezed the gigantic southern boy with all his might as he held back the urge to cry. "I love you, Sam," said Blaine. "You are more than my best friend. I've always thought of you as the brother I never got to have. Please, don't die."

Sam smiled as he squeezed Blaine back, promising to come back.

With Blaine stepping aside, Ayla decided it was her turn to get involved before all the waterworks happened. The homos just didn't know how to hold down the fort, not like a tough chick like her could. But still, this was a big moment since this could very well be the end of the line for them all.

"Take care, Sam," said Ayla. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"I'll be good," said Sam.

"Not too good," laughed Ayla.

Parting ways, Ayla got out of there so that Mr. Hummel could issue his final farewells to his fiancé.

Kurt locked his arms around Sam who returned the gesture. The young couple stayed there for a moment and was utterly silent as neither one bothered to say a single word. This could be their last moment together, they weren't to waste it by saving goodbye to each other.

So instead, this was just an "I'll see you later" moment. Kurt kissed Sam for good luck, pushing his sexy hero in the direction of his room so he could get Justice. While Sam disappeared to his room, Ayla and Blaine got closer to Kurt with the guys taking off for his apartment as the young woman went to get her things.

It was time for them to march onward to their destiny.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

This somehow felt like the beginning of the end for Sam as he put on his Justice clothes. The leather clung onto his skin for what felt like the last time, in a sense. He didn't bother to put his mask on though since the Kingpin and everyone else already knew who he was. So the hero leaped from the balcony and took flight to Valentine Industry for the showdown.

The young hero flew across the sky, making in to a courtyard near the top of the building. He didn't exactly want to fly onto the rooftop in case it was a trap so taking the elevator or stairs seemed like a much safer bet.

Sam broke the doors that kept him locked out on the fifteenth floor. He looked up to see that it looked like the roof was passed the twenty-fourth floor. Not much was said about that, mainly because he was all alone in this struggle. He would have to face these demons on his own without any of his friends fighting by his side.

It was a little depressing when he thought about it, so Sam tried to keep those thoughts to himself as much as possible.

He took the elevator to his final destination. He kept his head low as he let in deep breaths in attempt to sooth all of his anxiety. His foot tapped against the board as the elevator went higher and higher until the ding alerted him that he was there.

Opening up his eyes, Sam lifted his head up and stepped out. He had made it to the roof access, which meant he was only feet away from all the trouble that was about to break loose.

Going for the theatrical entrance, the hero kicked the door open and made his first steps out onto the rooftop. Sam looked around the open space to find that nobody else was on the roof besides him, which seemed rather odd. No, it wasn't so much as odd, but rude. If the Kingpin wanted him dead then one would figure that he'd be one time for their appointment.

Sam attempted to maintain his cool, but it was difficult to do since all he could think about was Stevie. He had no idea at all if his brother was safe or if his fiancé and friend had fallen for a trap that was step up by the Kingpin. It was downright infuriating that Sam felt that overwhelming power that was Justice beginning to boil up inside of him.

This only grew worse when a familiar presence made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. Slowly, Sam turned around to spot a face that he never expected to see again in his life. His green eyes stared into the face of what he believed to be the greatest evil in the world, far worse than any spirit or even the Kingpin.

"Long time no see, Justice, or should I say Sam?" said a very bitter sounding David Karofsky. "You know, I'm not too surprised to see that you're Justice. It seems to poetic that the pretty boy gets to be the hero." The huskier man stood near the broken doors with his arms crossed over his solid chest. Although, he still was heavier set, the time away in prison seemed to have led to Dave improving the muscle mass of his physical form. It didn't exactly hurt that he was also infused with some of Orsino's malevolent powers.

"What the hell are you doing here?" said Sam. "You're supposed to be in jail!"

"I have friends in high places," laughed Dave. He stepped further into the starlight and the mighty illumination that was Manhattan. The vintage leather coat actually served to flatter him along with the torn, ragged jeans. His hair was a mess, but there was nothing new about that. "And here I am about to have my revenge on your, pretty boy. It's your fault I lost everything!" His voice boomed with depth and anger as he pointed a figure at Sam. Those brown eyes were storming with fury as he locked his gaze onto Sam. "Life was so much better without you getting in my way."

"No, Dave!" shouted Sam. "You were always fucked up!" The hero took his stance and raised his arms up, ready to fight him. This was his second chance at Dave, and this time, he wasn't going to get off lightly. "You got exactly what you deserved!"

"Well, you're about to get your just desserts too," smirked Dave.

Calling forth on the dark powers, Dave flew across the roof until he was able to latch onto Sam's body. He dragged the blond down to the ground with his fist soon flying and slammed across the face of the hero. Sam's face was smashed against the cement roof, which brought a wicked amount of pain to his jaw from both the punch and the impact. The blond attempted to throw off his attacker by using the strength of his legs.

Sam's legs managed to come through for him. He was able to use his legs for leverage and was able to push Dave off of him. The spirit within him caused the Spirit Warrior to go wild as he faced off against the monster. The hatred that he had for Dave burned brighter then the very Sun as he desired nothing more than to see him dead.

After everything that he did to Kurt, Sam could never find himself able to forgive Dave. Even though he wasn't the one that was hurt by Dave, it still pained him deeply to know what the monster did to the love of his life.

Sam grabbed Dave by his shoulders and pushed the fugitive down to the ground. He smashed his elbow into his right, shoulder blade. This caused Dave some wicked pain, but the madness within him that was Orsino's vengeance was enough to keep him going. The pain became nothing at all as his brown eyes became a shade of violent black.

This caught Sam off his guard, which caused the tables to be turned against him. Dave pushed free from Sam's hold and slammed his boots into the chest of the hero. The fugitive then sprang back up on his feet, rushing the hero like a football player. He tackled Sam down with the superhuman strength given to him by Orsino, terrifying Sam to no ends.

Dave wrapped his hands around Sam's throat, strangling the very life from him.

"Enough!" came another voice. "I want to put an end to him myself."

Another familiar voice sparked some fear into Sam due to this very vulnerable position that he was in. Dave released the hero, pulling the beaten hero up to his feet so that Sam was forced to see the added guests.

The Kingpin was amongst the first to greet Sam. This was soon followed by four unfamiliar faces, but three looked remarkably the same. One of the triplets was holding onto Mika who was handcuffed and had his mouth gagged. Sam could only assume that the triplets were the famous Valentine triplets. Now that he thought about it, from the faint differences of the brothers, Sam assumed that it was either Miguel or Mason hanging onto Mika. And considering how Mika was being treated, it seems that even he was the victim of his evil family.

Laughing, mostly to himself, Drake Valentine began his approach of Sam. The Kingpin held up a gun, which he pressed against the jaw of the young hero. "Such a shame that it all must end this way," said the Kingpin. "Don't worry though, you played your part well. I'll let your brother go since you did, after all, save my son's life."

"And now you turn against your own son," said Sam. "What did you do to him to make him tell you who I was?"

"I threatened the life of his sister," said Drake. "You see, Mr. Evans, blood is thicker than water." Cocking the trigger and removing it from his neck, Drake found a new target to execute Sam. He pressed the gun against his forehead with a very wicked smile forming on his face, while Dave tightened the hold that he had on Sam's arms, nearly breaking them. "Let's see if you'll get to go to Heaven, Justice."

Sam was a firm believer that when someone was about to die that his life would flash before his eyes. It had already happened to him once when he gave up his life to save Kurt's all those years ago. That's what started all of this mess. So when Drake was mere seconds away from pulling that trigger, Sam felt nothing at all. He didn't see his life flash before his eyes. There was nothing, only the sounds of the city beneath them.

Maybe his death fucked this up for him. He died one so he wasn't going to get an instant replay again.

But Death never came for Sam, it didn't bother to touch him this time around. Instead, it was Drake who was in for a surprise when the sound of a gun being shot hit the air. Drake's eyes widened with shock as he dropped his gun-wielding arm to the side. Then it finally hit Sam, it was the Kingpin who had been shot as there was a wild amount of blood running down his chest now.

Drake gulped, belching out blood from his mouth as he dropped to his knees. Slowly, the Kingpin fought his death to turn around to see who shot him only to see that it was his son, Magnus.

Miguel, Mason, and Mika looked equally amazed by what had just happened. Their brother had actually shot and killed their father for what seemed like no reason at all. Mika just couldn't understand this. He forced him to tell him who Justice was, in front of their father, just so that he could kill their father?

"It's nothing personal, dad," said a cocky Magnus, "it's just business. Orsino was offering a lot more then you were."

Drake tried to utter out his dying words, but his voice was silence when Magnus shot him again. The bullet landed in his throat, ripping through the flesh with the bullet getting wedged into the cement.

And now the Kingpin was dead, Drake Valentine had been betrayed by his very own son.

Orsino began to laugh as he started to applaud what had just took place. The wizen looking man then set his eyes onto Sam with a sparkling, although malevolent, smile taking form on his face. "Now, it's just us," said Orsino. "We are finally rid of the Kingpin so now the main event can begin."

"Yes, Orsino," said Magnus. "Now, you will give me the power that you promised!"

"Patience," uttered Orsino. "We still have much to do before then."

"How could you!" shouted Mason. "How could you kill father, Magnus?"

Magnus turned his gun on his own brother, warning him to stay silence. Mason found himself unable to speak at that point with Miguel being equally as silent as well. Neither one of the Valentine's wanted to be executed like their father had been.

Orsino called down his hound, while ordering Dave to continue restraining Sam. The pain in his arms was on the verge of killing Sam as he held back the urge to scream.

"The main event can begin now," said Orsino. "My plans have all fallen into place so now the Door can be opened. I shall finally have my vengeance, for I am the Spirit of Vengeance!" Crouching down a little bit so that he was now looking Sam properly in the face. He placed cold hands against the healing jaw with a soft grin spreading. "And it is all thanks to you, Sammy. If it wasn't for you then none of this would be possible."

Sam had no idea what Orsino meant by that, but he felt that he'd find out the truth soon enough.

What concerned him most though was what exactly Orsino meant by having his vengeance.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

Tracking Stevie down took a little bit of time, but Kurt was able to pull it off by using one of Kai's charms. He used his Guardian powers to locate where Stevie was being held captive before suiting up and taking off with Huntress. Blaine remained behind in the young Guardian's apartment where he'd be safest during this power struggle.

The Guardian and Huntress head across town towards the docks off of Queens. Stevie was being locked up in one of the warehouses, which gave the Guardian a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomachs. Warehouses being used in a kidnapping tended to be no good at all. They'd find Stevie either dead, bleeding to death, or brutalized in some other way.

It was a horrid feeling that made the Guardian feel guilty for even thinking about. He hurried though, knowing that if they didn't get there quickly then it really could be too late for Stevie.

So it was up to Huntress to take charge as her natural instincts took over. They made it to the warehouse to find that there was not a single soul around the building. Which was very odd since they both figured that the place would be heavily guarded like the White House. Huntress and the Guardian expected that somebody to be waiting outside with a gun or a knife or at least an ice pick.

Huntress broke the lock on the door then pushed the door open. She stormed inside with the Guardian following her lead where they both discovered that the entire warehouse was completely empty. There was only a single chair under a light with a person tied up, blinded, and gagged, sitting on the chair. He was surrounded by various boxes and crates that kept him almost covered from sight.

The Guardian charged towards Stevie without any hesitation, pulling down his hood in the process. Meanwhile, Huntress looked around at the various crates that were in the room. She kept her eyes open for anyone else that might try to sneak up on them. Her hunting instincts were ticking as she tried to figure out just what was so wrong with this picture.

Removing all of those ropes and tape, the Guardian was slowly busting Stevie free from his warehouse prison. "Are you alright, Stevie?" asked the Guardian. "It's me, Kurt." He got stuck on a particularly tight knot, which required him to use his Sai. He slashed the rope apart, which gave Stevie all of his freedom.

Plenty of tear stains covered the boy's face as he practically threw himself to the ground. Well, he more fell there as a couple of obvious bruises were present on his skin. Stevie opened his eyes and looked at the Guardian to see that it really was Kurt.

"How?" whispered Stevie. "It doesn't make sense."

"This is a recent change," said the Guardian. "I'm replacing someone else. Now, let's get you out of here so Ayla and I can go rescue your brother."

"We might want to rush that order," said Huntress.

The Guardian and Stevie looked over to Huntress to see her hurrying towards a crate. She ripped it completely opened to find exactly what she was looking for.

A total wave of silence hit the Spirit Hunter as she found a ticking bomb. It was literally a bomb that had less than fifteen seconds left until the countdown hit zero.

"Run!" shouted Huntress.

She turned, dragging them both towards the exit of the warehouse just as the timer reached zero. The warehouse erupted in a massive explosion as the other explosives in the crates and boxes were ignited in a massive blast.


	19. Apocalypse, Not

**Author's Note:** This is probably my longest update yet, but I think it's also going to be the one that makes you hate me the most! I can't tell you why, but it leaves you with a cliffhanger. So this is the final battle chapter, I hope you guys enjoy all the violence and heartache that comes with it because somebody will die! OOOO! Spoiler Alert! Haha. Read and review. P.S. I promise the final chapter will have a very happy ending for all of us.

**Apocalypse, Not:**

(Ayla)

It was an eruption, a deadly eruption of flame and debris that would surely end their lives. Huntress's warning had come virtually too late for an ordinary human to escape unscathed. But due to their superhuman abilities, Huntress and the Guardian were able to escape the exploding building with Stevie before it was too late.

The heroes took the boy and ran as quickly as they could to the dock. They escaped the door of the warehouse just as the bomb went off, taking down the entire building in a massive explosion. The force of the explosion gave enough force that it pushed the trio towards the water where they safely splashed into the chilly waters.

A ball of fire shot up into the sky as the warehouse was completely destroyed. The contents of the warehouse flew to the sky, the cement road, nearby buildings, and into the water. With fiery debris coming down on their heads, the heroes and Stevie kept below the surface as they tried to swim to put some distance between them.

In the cold, dark water, the trio managed to swim out of the way. They managed to avoid a flaming steel crate that would've easily crushed any of them.

Huntress took Stevie by the arm and helped them break the surface with the Guardian following behind them. The three of them took in a heavy breath, filling their lungs with the much needed oxygen to prevent an untimely death. They were at a safe distance, but the ocean current was pushing the flaming debris towards them.

"What the hell is going on!" shouted Stevie. "Why did that building just blow up?"

"Because the Kingpin never wanted any of us to live through this," said Huntress. She pushed her soaked hair from her face as she realized that her leather was going to chafe her skin pretty soon. It was a regret that she'd have to push to the side since her mind was taken over with the desire to kick some ass. "He wanted us all dead because he didn't want anyone to stop him from getting to Sam. At least we managed to foil one of his plans."

"Now, we have to go help Sam," said the Guardian. "Who knows how much danger he is in?"

Stevie still couldn't quite understand everything that was going on, but that would have to wait. The heroes needed to get Stevie someplace safe, and fast, so that they could rush to Sam's aid who was in desperate need of their assistance. They might not know just how much danger Sam was in, but the fear was ever present since what they just witnessed.

Huntress swam towards a safer, non-flaming, part of the dock with the Guardian and Stevie following her lead. They climbed an emergency ladder that was nearby, using it to help them get back onto dry land where they'd make their big escape.

The Guardian took off his soaked robes and tried to ring them off, wishing he could do the same for his pants. The others were equally craving to dry off their clothes, which Stevie did, while Huntress couldn't due to her fashion statement she was making.

They left the disastrous scene behind them, while praying for Sam's safety.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

The physical restraints, namely Dave Karofsky, continued to keep Sam down as he knelt on the rooftop of the Valentine's building. His leather pants were stained by a mixture of his blood and the blood that was pooling around him that had came from the Kingpin. It was shameful to see that the Kingpin, Drake Valentine, had been murdered by the hands of his own son. Magnus was practically reveling in all of this, while his brothers were cowering in fear of him.

All while Orsino was highly amused by how everything had progressed. Now that he was face to face with him, Sam could see all of this evil that was boiled within the body of the vengeful spirit. There was so much evil contained within, centuries' worth of hate and anger that was boiling up into the surface. Orsino was on the verge of erupting into a complete mess of destruction, but the composure was contained so to continue his plans.

Orsino stepped around the rooftop with his arms crossed behind his back as he looked up to the starlit sky. He could feel the wave of heat from the distance, signaling him of the completion of his trap. "And so three birds are killed by a single stone," laughed the vengeful spirit. He turned around to look at the fallen Justice, a devious grin forming on his wrinkly face. "Your friends attempted to rescue your brother and they all paid the price. I set a trap for them, they are all dead now. They perished in a fiery explosion."

"You bastard!" Sam shouted, attempting to rush the spirit.

But when Sam even attempted to move a muscle, Dave was there to hold him back. The convict applied a greater deal of pressure onto the hero's arms, which was threatening to snap them apart. It caused Sam to end this rebellious nerve as he collapsed back onto his knees into the pool of blood before him.

"What a remarkable thing bombs are," continued Orsino. "They make such an excellent present to unsuspecting victims. It never ceases to amuse me. Even after all of these centuries, humanity just continues to get more and more creative in its methods to kill each other." The vengeful spirit couldn't help but to laugh at this thought. He turned to all the mortals gathered before him, not seeing a single one amongst them that was worth any form of redemption. "Well, I suppose I can be considered the most creative of them all. When I open the Vault of Souls then there will be nothing left of humanity, you will all perish by my hands!"

"I'll stop you!" shouted Sam. "I swear to God that I'll find a way to stop you…you maniac!"

Orsino continued to chuckle just as Dave began to pull on Sam's arms again. There was a lovely cry of pain that escaped from the blond's mouth as the spirit began to approach him and knelt down before the young man. "Silly, Sammy," said Orsino. "You still can't even begin to understand your role in all of this. I am not the one at fault here; it is humanity who must be faced with justice! Humanity has done nothing but treated each other with the most inhumane of treatments."

"They don't deserve destruction though," said Sam. "Humanity might be flawed, but what you propose is purely wicked! You can't kill everyone."

"Why shouldn't I?" asked Orsino. "Humanity is responsible for brutally slaying my family and countless others. I, Orsino, have lost everything because of humanity's quest for war! The spilling of innocent blood must come to an end and in order to do that, everyone must be punished for the acts of their forefathers! Justice can only be claimed by annihilating all of humanity in one swoop!"

The words of the spirit rang throughout the city. Although, to the people below them, the words that Orsino spoke made absolutely no sense. His desire for vengeance rang loud and clear though as he called forth the chalice that would open the Door.

Orsino took some of the spilt blood of Drake Valentine, placing the life essence inside of the chalice. The gems encrusted along the sides began to glow as Orsino began the ritual to summon the Vault of Souls to the human world. Soon enough, the entire planet would be overrun by demons and malevolent spirits that would tare the entire world asunder.

Everything was about to come to an end, it was only fair for the Champion to know why this was happening.

"You have only yourself to blame for this, Samuel Evans," said Orsino. "It is because of you that we are brought here today, and not for the reasons you think." The vengeful spirit knelt down once more to restrained blond. He told Dave to step aside and release the boy, which his loyal follower did, causing Sam to fall onto his hands and knees. "You are the catalyst that started all of this, the divine trigger that freed me from Purgatory." The spirit touched the face of the young man with his cold, soulless hand.

"When you sacrificed your life and allowed yourself to be revived by the Spirit of Justice, you created a rift in the Natural Order of the Universe. By tampering with this system, you allowed me to slip through the Veil that keeps the spirits away from the human world. I then latched onto your soul and followed you back to the world of the living before parting ways with you."

Orsino marveled once began to see the look of terror in Sam's eyes. The young man held back the urge to vomit and scream, while the spirit continued to enjoy the painful truth that he brought to him. "So you see, Samuel, it is all your fault," said Orsino. "By defying Death, you allowed me to come to this world. And now, I will be its Destroyer, I will free everyone from the mortal coil. You should feel honored to play such an important role in the destruction of this world and the deaths of everyone that you love."

The spirit parted ways with Sam at this point, focusing his efforts now on completing the ritual.

Leaving Sam with the bitter truth, the young hero was on the verge of complete collapse. Knowing that Stevie, Ayla, and Kurt had been killed by this monster this left behind a horrid pain in his chest. He didn't even need to be restrained to prevent him from moving. The truth was powerful enough to bind Sam still as all faith in himself was shattered.

It was all because of him that the world was going to end, the Apocalypse was here. And nothing that Sam could do would be enough to stop the inevitable, not a damn thing.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

They made it across town to Kurt's apartment in record timing. Kurt and Ayla had given up their superhero charade for now as they brought Stevie into Blaine's care. But the apartment alone wasn't much of a defense until Kurt reminded them how he had used a gift left behind from Kai to make his home that much safer.

The young man went into his bedroom to pull out a vile of ink and a paper charm out from his nightstand. He returned to show off his trophy to the others who just watched him with a great deal of curiosity.

Blaine stared at the symbol on the paper, wondering precisely what that meant. It looked like a Chinese letter to him, and his Mandarin wasn't exactly on top. "So how is this supposed to help us out?" asked the older youth. "I don't see how a piece of paper is going to make this apartment any safer. Why don't you just say a spell?"

Rolling her eyes at him, Ayla went over to a trunk that stored some extra weapons. She crouched over to begin unlocking it, while Stevie watched her with a great deal of hormonal interest and frightened curiosity. "It's not the paper that'll make us safe," Ayla said, taking out a knife from Kurt's trunk. "The paper holds a symbol of protection, Kurt is going to copy that symbol in order to create a magical wall of protection on the apartment."

"Exactly," said Kurt. "Before he died, Kai taught me all of these Guardian Charms that were for protective purposes. I never understood why he did this until I got the power, but now I think that Kai knew that all of this was going to happen." Kurt opened the ink and began to copy the symbol onto one of the windows in the living room. "Maybe not this exactly, but he's known all along that a storm was brewing and that we'd be going to a spiritual war."

Kurt continued this process, painting over the other windows in the apartment as well as all the doors. The black ink began to hum with a soft glow of mystical power. The enchantment took effect, adding a layer of mystical protection over the apartment.

Stevie turned away from gazing at Ayla, mainly because he was frightened when she pulled out a short sword from the trunk. He looked over to Kurt who had finished painting the last symbol on the front door. Kurt informed them that he had already protected his bedroom a long time ago since he worried about someone breaking in while he slept.

The boy fell down on the nearest chair, his clothes still half-soaked from their little swim. His wrists and arms also bore the burn from the rope that had kept him tied up for the last couple of hours. He could still feel their sting against his flesh as he turned towards the window. "I still don't understand what is going on," said Stevie. "I am so scared. Why is Sam in trouble?"

"Didn't you piece that one together yet, Little S?" asked Blaine. "Your brother is Justice, he's a fucking superhero."

"For how long?" asked Stevie. "I didn't know he had superpowers."

Interrupting Stevie's thoughts, Kurt closed the vile of ink and placed the items down on his kitchen counter. He wiped off the excess ink onto his robes, not really caring if he got dirty right now. "He didn't," said Kurt," until he saved me from dying. When Sam sacrificed himself to save me, a Spirit of Justice saved your brother by merging with him, turning him into a Spirit Warrior. This caused Sam to develop superpowers."

"Now evil spirits are running wild and are threatening to destroy our world," added Ayla. "Plus, we also have pissed off the criminal Kingpin so much that he is wants to kill us, Sam especially since Justice always interfered with his plans." Holding up a pair of swords, Ayla placed them into their sheaths and strapped them to her waist. Pleased with her combat attire, she felt herself ready for battle. "So we better cut this short so Kurt and I can go save your brother."

Kurt nodded his head as he retrieved his Sai, and soon walked out the front door with her. He paused for a moment, turning back towards the friends that they were leaving behind. There was still one more thing he wanted to leave them with before going off to what might be their final battle.

"If things get very bad, I placed extra charms in my bedroom," said Kurt. "I have protections symbols all over the walls so it should hold out longer than the rest of the apartment. Hide there if things get really serious."

"Will do," Blaine said, promising to hold the fort.

Kurt knew that he could trust in Blaine. He turned away as he rejoined Ayla as they made their way out of the apartment, out of the building, and into the belly of the beast.

As they began to vanish from sight, Stevie lifted his sorrowful head up. His look of concern was downright heartbreaking as he tried to understand exactly everything that was happening, but found himself unable to. "But I'm still confused," Stevie mumbled as the door opened. All of this was so new to him, he had no idea how this could all be possible.

Blaine fell onto the armrest of the chair that Stevie was currently occupying. Blaine wrapped his arm around Stevie, pulling the boy towards him. "Don't worry, kid, I'll explain everything to you," said the older boy. "While they're busy saving the world, I can fill you in on everything that's been happening these last couple of years."

This almost came as a comfort until they saw the entire city light up, and it wasn't because of the lights of the city. Blaine and Stevie looked out one of the windows to see a strange light on top of a building in the far distance. It looked like they were going to have to hide out in Kurt's bedroom sooner rather than later.

"And with any luck," added Blaine, "you can ask your brother any extra details when the city is saved."

* * *

><p>(Orsino)<p>

Now, it was time for the Apocalypse to truly begin.

The words were spoken in a language far older than any known language. Its people, like so many others, had been slaughtered to the point of extinction so that all of their treasures were lost to the world. Orsino had revived this dead language so to anoint the blood trapped within the chalice in order to summon the Vault of Souls.

All of his preparations were leading up to this moment. Orsino's eyes were starry as he held his precious chalice up into the air so to complete his deepest dreams. Soon enough, he would have vengeance for his family, his entire purpose would be fulfilled as he unleashed the executioners of humanity.

By now, all eyes were on Orsino. The young men all watched as the spirit chanted in the ancient language, unable to understand a single word that was coming out of his mouth. Magnus and Dave were the most enchanted by his tongue to such an extreme that they mindlessly began to repeat him. Another piece of the ritual was completed by pulling on the spiritual cords of the mindless acolytes.

Mika's legs were shaking as he continued to try and process all of that had happened. He was still in shock from what Magnus had done to their father. Even in handcuffs, the boy was twitching uncontrollably as his eyes would gaze from the pool of blood around his deceased father and that of the wicked spirit.

Mason and Miguel weren't exactly any better. Everything that had happened just now had not gone according to the plans staged by their father. This betrayal was far worse than anything that they could imagine. The brothers would've never turned against their father or one another in such a way that Magnus had done. But Magnus had always been far greedier then they were, his lust for power knew no limits apparently as he sided with humanity's executioner.

Unable to do a thing to tip the scale of power, Sam found himself unwilling to move even the slightest of inches. His body felt as if it weighed a ton, heavier than any kind of metal that was known to exist. Every part of him had fallen because of the wicked truth brought to him by the spirit. The part he played in all of this, Sam just couldn't live with himself knowing how deeply involved he was in this.

He was no hero, he was no better than all of the villains that had assembled.

Orsino admired everything that was happening at this point. Already, he could feel that the veil that separated the human world from the spirit world was collapsing around them. Its spiritual weight would completely shatter once the Door was opened.

The pressure of the disturbance caused devastating effects all over the world. Even though the Vault of Souls would open in New York, the rest of the world was feeling the pressure of having veil being broken. The weather and nature itself was the first to display this wrath as storms and earthquakes began to take form all four corners of the globe.

It was all to make way for the Door.

Opening his eyes, Orsino couldn't help but to tear up as he saw the sky turn. The clouds around them began to shift as the moon above turned blood red, welcoming the arrival of the Door. A pillar of light took form in front of Orsino, creating a door that was virtually half the size of the building that they were on top of right now. The metal, gray door was painted with streaks of silver and gold along the frame and handles.

"And here is the Vault of Souls," said Orsino. "It is so beautiful, I never imagined that such a gem could truly exist, but here it is. The power of the Vault shall free us all."

Magnus was the first to step forward with Dave not too far behind him. But it was Dave, oddly enough, who aired on the side of caution. Magnus blindly approached the spirit until he was standing side by side with him. He stared into the very heart of the Vault of Souls, truly beholding the magnificence of this wonder.

It blackened his thoughts until he could only see the power that it would bring to him. Magnus was practically drooling as he craved that power as much as he craved life itself.

Sensing this corruption, Orsino would use this to his advantage. The Vault of Souls was only summoned by the chalice, it would take something else though to open it. The spirit held a hand forward as he beaconed Magnus to go to the Vault of Souls. "It is here, Magnus," said Orsino. "You loyalty shall, at last, be rewarded. I promised you ultimate power, the power to rule everything and that is exactly what you should have."

Even though this was contrary to everything Orsino had said, Magnus was so blinded by his blackened soul that he didn't hear a word of any of Orsino's other words. He knew only that this was the rewarded he was promised, which is what caused Magnus to approach the door with his hand extended.

In the moment that Magnus touched the handle to the Vault of Souls, the ritual reached its completion.

Magnus was completely obliterated by the Vault at that first contact. Hellish light erupted from the Vault of Souls as the floodgates were torn asunder, shattering everything that kept the two worlds apart from each other. The sacrifice necessary was Magnus who faced the ultimate punishment by losing his life and his blackened soul begin devoured by the hungry demons and spirits that sought to overrun the human world.

The Vault of Souls had its doors burst apart as the creatures began to flood the world. The rush of energy brought forth by Orsino and Magnus started its assault by attacking New York. Already, the demons and evil spirits began to attack humanity in every shape possible. They gained flesh by either taking possession of the living or by using the mayhem to create one of their own desire.

And in this, an army of abominations was born that would soon overrun the entire Earth.

Orsino's villainous laughter filled the air as he felt the wave of power flooding from the open door. He also could see the spot of soiled ground from where Magnus once stood then sensed the confusion of the remaining Valentine boys. It was only fair that they learned Magnus's true purpose before the demons dragged this world to Hell.

"Your brother was never meant to rule anything," howled Orsino. "He was just a lamb to the slaughter. I used your brother to be my final sacrificed. To summon the Vault of Souls, I needed the blood of a wicked man to be spilt, but in order for the Door to open, I needed the life of a traitor. The only traitor that would satisfy the requirement would have to be one who turned against his own blood, a murderer of his own father."

Mika, Mason, and Miguel couldn't find the words to speak as they dropped to their knees. The demons and spirits that flew above them didn't do them any harm, at least not yet. The evil creatures travelled down to the ground and the surrounding buildings, leaving this spot alone, it seemed, to the grand orchestrator.

And still…and still Sam did nothing to stop this. Orsino could see this, which he found utterly amusing as Dave joined his side in the midst of the beginning of the devastation.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

New York was a warzone now as the demons and spirits took control.

The chaos that brewed in their wake left the streets difficult for the Guardian and the Huntress to navigate through. The duo ran along the streets as the assault gained serious vigor. The spirits and demons attacked cars that were in motion, causing them to crash into buildings, streetlights, and people.

Blood soon pooled into the streets with fiery explosions going off as the city was being dragged under. Already, the Guardian and Huntress watched so many innocent lives being stolen in the midst of all this. The prayers of help went unheard as cruel fates awaited the people of New York, with similar acts of terror soon spreading across the world.

It was only a matter of time before the demons and spirits controlled the entire planet. That much was certain, which is why Huntress and the Guardian pushed themselves to rush as quickly as possible to Valentine Industries. They needed to put a stop to this Apocalypse before there was no world left to save.

As they ran across the road, a ruined car went off in flames from broken fuel line and a cracked gas valve. The intense heat nearly knocked the young heroes from their feat, but they preserved and pushed themselves through the fire to keep up with the pace. They couldn't allow anything to distract them from their journey, they needed to stop this mess.

The needed to rescue Sam, they needed their Spirit Warrior to help them save the world.

Letting the fires burn and walking through the infernos, Huntress and the Guardian eventually made it to the tower. They stormed the castle, in a sense, by breaking through the locked doors until they stood in the middle of the building's lobby.

Allowing themselves this brief respite, the Guardian and Huntress attempted to rest before the gruesome battle ahead of them. Huntress, in particular, seemed the most concerned as she understood exactly what was happening to their world. On their way here, she explained to the Guardian about the legendary Vault of Souls that would only open to unleash an army of demons and spirits upon the world. The end results would always be the complete destruction of the world, which was something that they couldn't allow.

The Guardian took hold of his Sai, which he held up to his face. His blood boiled and his heart beat faster a little as he thought about how much trouble that his Sam was in. He couldn't afford to waste another minute to rest when his fiancé's life was in such grave danger. "Come on, Ayla," said the young Guardian. "We have to go help Sam! We can't waste anymore time."

"Right behind you!" shouted Huntress.

They raced towards the staircase that led to the elevators. The Guardian was at the lead of their mini charge, already very close to the elevators. But Huntress began to drag on as her senses began to feel something that the Guardian could not.

She stopped at the middle of the staircase with her body slowly turning towards the front doors. At once, her eyes lit up as she saw a wave of darkness rushing towards the building as the sound of a train engine roared towards them. Her body began to tense up as she looked back towards the Guardian who had already reached the elevators.

"Hurry up, Ayla!" shouted the Guardian.

Huntress shook her head though as she began to run back down the stairs. The Guardian could vaguely see her as she now stood in the middle of the lobby. "I can't do that, Kurt," said Huntress. "We got a unit of demons and spirits coming right after us. We'll do Sam no good at all if they kill us on the way."

"What are we going to do then?" said the Guardian. "We're going to fight them all while Sam is facing some unknown horror?"

"No, Kurt, I'm the only one staying behind," she told him. "You go help Sammy boy. I'll take care of these freaks and join up with you as soon as I'm done."

A tear began to streak down his face as the Guardian realized what Huntress was truly doing. He could see through this ruse that his friend was throwing at him. There would be no survival for any of them if they both stuck around. The demons and spirits needed to be tricked that there was only one of them.

She was willing to sacrifice herself, he couldn't allow that.

"I won't let you, Ayla," said the Guardian. He was already about to step out of the elevator door when a knife was thrown at the panel.

"Just go, God damnit!" shouted Huntress. "Save your husband, Kurt. I will take care of everything here!"

Nothing more could be done to stop this. Huntress had already made her decision, and the Guardian would just have to accept this. Already, the doors were being sealed on him as he was forced to watch just as the invasion came to them. The doors were closed and he was already on his way to the top floor, while Huntress was about to face an army on her own.

Drawing her blades, Huntress took out the swords and pointed them to the ground. She looked at the army of possessed people: some looked like crazed zombies and others were in far better condition. The zombies were under the thumb of the living possessions who were armed with weapons to use against the Spirit Hunter.

A grand battle was about to begin, one that Huntress realized that she had a high chance of dying in. The only bright side to all of this was that she would be reunited with Kai in the end. She hoped that Heaven had an open bar because she would need a serious drink to shake off what happened during this showdown.

"Well, Ayla girl," said Huntress, "at least we'll go out in a blaze of glory."

Reminding herself of just who she was, Huntress took charge after that. She went into battle with no regrets as she convinced herself that this was her gift to her friends.

* * *

><p>(Orsino)<p>

Watching the exterminators at work, Orsino couldn't help but to smile by all the progress all of his hard work had made. It had yet to be even an hour since he unleashed the demons and spirits upon the Earth, but there was already so much destruction. Several buildings had already gone up in smoke and flame, while the anguished cries of the dying could be heard from the rooftop.

It was all just so glorious that nothing could ruin the happiness that Orsino felt. His true purpose had been fulfilled now, Destiny had laid down her hand and the judgment was for humanity eradication. Over, three hundred lives had been extinguished and so much more would soon follow in their footsteps.

The Vault of Souls had long since expelled the last of the creatures onto this world. It was quiet now, which seemed to be the only redeeming part of the grizzly situation. But this was only a tiny, microscopic even, benefit in the midst of the devastation that was taking place.

"This is just beautiful," Orsino uttered as he sniffed the smoky air. A light sigh escaped his lips as moved away from the edge of the roof to return his attention to his honored guests. "And here we all are. It's the end of the world but yet you are all still so solemn looking! Why?" The spirit found himself laughing as he approached the downhearted Valentines. His hand reached out to Mika, breaking the boy free from all of his chains. "There is no point in being so sad; these are your final moments of life. You might as well as enjoy them before I finally decide to kill you all where you stand."

An explosion of tears escaped Mika just as an actual explosion went off in the distance. A nearby building went up in fire as everyone inside it burned to death, while the demons and spirits continued their assault.

It was such a wonderful sigh that Orsino couldn't help but to revel in all of it. The best part was that nothing and nobody could stop it, which made everything so much better for him. Even now, the spirit gazed into the soulless eyes of the Spirit Warrior to find that Sam had nothing in him at all to stop him.

This was just too good.

Orsino dropped himself down on the bloody pool as gazed into the empty eyes of the Spirit Warrior. He searched for something, even the smallest of pebbles of hope within Sam just so he could squash it.

"How are you feeling, hero?" asked Orsino. "Do you feel better knowing that if you never came back to life that none of this would be happening? Well, this would still happen, but it might have taken me even longer to accomplish this task. And maybe that other Spirit Warrior would've actually had been stronger then you, strong enough to stop me even. How great would that have been? The world could've been so much better off if you never said yes to Justice and stayed dead."

"And what do you have to show for it? You came back to life and nothing has really changed," whispered the Spirit of Vengeance. "Now, the world is really teetering to destruction. In days, the world will no longer be able to sustain itself. The spirits and demons would eradicate the balance, causing the world to implode on itself, sinking into a black hole of destruction."

Orsino would've said more, but another couple of scents caught his attention. To be more precise, two scents presented themselves to him that caused him to end the psychological warfare.

The spirit looked over to Dave, pointing a finger at the convict with a violent scowl. "It seems we have more guests," said Orsino. "Go deal with them before they make it to the top. Make sure that you dispose of them properly, David!"

Dave nodded his head as he disappeared through the roof access, entering the building to follow his command.

Once again, Orsino turned back to Sam this time with a frown on his face. He, bitterly, stood up from the blood with the red liquid sliding down the front of his clothing. "Well, it seems that your friends didn't die in the explosion after all," said Orsino. "I promise you though, Samuel, you won't see them alive. I will make sure that they never make it up here."

Walking away from him, Orsino checked to make certain that the defenses were strong enough to prevent Huntress and the Guardian from interfering with his plots. He couldn't afford to let them reach the top, not when he was so close to bringing forth total destruction.

What Orsino failed to realize though was that his words had more power then he knew. Just telling Sam that his friends were still alive was enough to push some life back into him.

In proving this, the fingers on Sam's left hand began to twitch with renewed life.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

The ascent up the building was a slow and painful one for the Guardian. All of his thoughts were locked onto what cruel fate might have befallen Sam. And now there was this invasion of demons to worry about who would soon overrun the planet if they weren't stopped. The Guardian then found himself feeling remarkably guilty about leaving Huntress alone to fight an army. He feared that the worst could happen to her, fighting an invasion by herself, while he ran off to rescue his fiancé.

If that wasn't a Hell worthy offense then he couldn't figure out what was.

Stopping to have a moment to breathe, the Guardian attempted to relieve himself off all this worry. He was no good to anyone if he was too busy freaking out. He needed to remain calm, he had to reclaim his composure so that he could make a difference in this apocalyptic showdown.

The Guardian stepped out of the elevator the moment the doors opened up. He was on the highest floor that the elevator could take him to, but all of the action was on the rooftop, which was a small walk away.

In the middle of the top floor, he found himself in this massive office space. There was a couple dozen desks all organized to maximize the space of the walkway. He could also spot another office at the other side of the floor, which no doubt belonged to the Kingpin. On a normal day then that was probably where he'd find the criminal mastermind, but not today.

He turned to see the small stairway that led to the rooftop. He went to storm up the staircase when a heavy hand grabbed him by the neck, tossing him across the office.

Crashing into a nearby chair was the only thing that kept the Guardian from taking off towards the floor-to-ceiling windows. The Guardian bashed his head against the tiled floor, feeling a sharp pain rushing up there as he tried to see his attacker. But for the moment his eyes were blurred by the blinding pain he felt coursing through his head. He could hear well though, which included the thick breathing over his shoulder.

A hand found its way around his neck once more with his attacker easily lifting him up into the air. The Guardian felt the air leaving his lungs as his attacker purposely worked on suffocating him to death.

"Such a shame that you have to die, Kurt," said a sickly, familiar voice. "I would've asked Orsino to spare you, but I think its only fair that you die with that fucking bastard of a boyfriend of yours."

The Guardian fought to break free by using the only weapon he had access to. His hands were busy trying to keep his attacker from completely crushing his throat so his legs, correction, his feet were the next best thing. He smashed the heel of his foot into the groin of his attacker, allowing him to break free from the suffocating grip.

Sending another kick that was aimed for that awful mug, the Guardian managed to further disable his attacker for a moment. When he looked back, he could see the evil man who was responsible for stealing so much from him. The air fully returned to his lungs at this point, which brought his voice back.

"Dave," whispered the Guardian. Things were beginning to make a little more sense in this fucked up situation. The brunet armed himself with his Sai, spinning the twin blades around until the tips were pointed towards Dave. "Why am I not surprised that you're here? I don't even think I want to know how you got out of jail."

Recovering from the assault on his face and genitals, Dave bounced back with a grin on his face. He was finally able to look the Guardian in the face as he stared into the beautiful face of the boy he violated not that long ago. "What can I say," growled Dave, "I have friends in very high places. You should consider yourself lucky, Kurt, I'll even go easy on you just for old times' sake."

"Bite me, Dave," said the Guardian.

"You did always like it a little rough," laughed Dave.

Flashbacks of those horrible months in his life were enough to set the Guardian over the edge. All of the kindness that he was known for having seemed to vanish into Oblivion, leaving behind someone who wanted nothing more than to get back at his abuser and rapist. Dave was about to be in for a wild ride as the Guardian threw himself at him.

Dave continued to laugh as the Guardian leaped into the air with his feet being driven towards the convict's head. The muscle for Orsino held his arms up in defense to block the attack from coming anywhere near him. A slightly annoyed growl escaped from the Guardian as he pushed himself away before stepping forward to swing a Sai at him.

The tip of the blade was only an inch away from ripping into Dave's throat. The convict avoided getting hit by the Sai then took advantage of the Guardian's moment of distraction. He grabbed onto the Guardian's wrist to twist his arm backward while snatching up the other arm up in the process.

Dave pressed the Guardian down onto a desk with his body trapped between wood and man. A scream tore out from the Guardian's mouth as he attempted to break free, but Dave's weight kept him pinned down. The fat of the husky man was still present, but more muscle always had been built up over the years of imprisonment. It all helped in keeping the Guardian pinned down, underneath him where he always belonged.

"Remember this position?" laughed Dave. "I took your virginity like this, maybe I should take you again just for old time's sake."

It was between Dave's stupidity and cockiness that was about to get him into serious trouble.

The Guardian bit down on Dave's hand which was far too dangerously close to his teeth. The moment that his teeth sank into the flesh, it gave the Guardian a moment to break free. He was no longer so easily crushed by Dave's weight, thus allowing him to drive his foot down onto the psycho's foot. He used all of his upper body strength to push Dave off of him then drove his elbow into the side of his face to knock Dave away.

The Guardian climbed on top of the desk just as Dave tried to mindlessly charge after him. He spun to kick Dave in the shoulder, but the brunt of his attack missed as Dave latched onto the desk and pushed it with remarkable strength. The desk went sailing across the office space with the Guardian falling off of it just as the desk smashed through the window and went crashing to the ground.

Knocked off his balance, the Guardian struggled to get back up just as Dave continued to laugh at how pathetic he was. The pain of this situation was slowly beginning to crawl up into him as the Guardian realized that he might not make it to Sam if he couldn't find the strength to kill Dave.

* * *

><p>(Ayla)<p>

Demons and spirits made some really poor decisions in choosing the bodies to posses. It was all too easy for Huntress to get through the crowd of abominations without even batting a single eyelash. She almost wished that she forced the Guardian to stick around just so he could watch how badass she was.

There was no one who would believe her story when she told them how she single-handedly fought off an army. Huntress couldn't almost believe it herself and that's because she was the one killing them.

It didn't exactly help Team Evil's cause that all of the non-zombie possession couldn't shoot to save their lives. That's the part that made it almost ridiculous to Huntress by just how easy it was to fend them off. Even though they were armed with some serious gunfire, none of them could shoot to save their lives, well, the lives of the people that they possessed.

Huntress, in response to their weakness, took charge into battle with her swords. She slashed a pair of half-rotten zombies across the chest before taking their heads off. That part was just too easy, especially when she spun her swords around to stab a pair of zombies that tried to sneak up behind her. The freshly, reanimated corpses didn't even have a chance to figure out what had just hit them.

As for the living-possessed, they were a different story. They still couldn't shoot for shit, but they were smarter and able to fight, which is what made them a real threat to her. Huntress had to be a little more cunning when dispatching them, which is exactly why she relied so much on her brain when taking them down a few pegs.

Two possessions tried to shoot her from both sides, but Huntress had a remedy to that problem. She bent herself backward with the bullets missing her and the idiots ended up shooting each other. And in that moment, she striked back by slicing off their gun-holding arms then went for the throats. The spirits inhabiting those bodies were gone now, but so were the unfortunate hosts, which really was a pity since the guys were actually pretty good looking.

Guilt would sink to her later, but Huntress had an Apocalypse to avert. She'd worry about all of the innocent souls later when the world was safe and the Vault of Souls was out of the picture.

Huntress jumped over a group of zombies that were attempting to swarm her. She took to climbing the wall, pushing her body against gravity as she held onto her bloodstained swords. She craned her head back a little to see that she had over two dozen demons and spirits left to slaughter before she could go help the Guardian and Justice. Taking a silent prayer, she hoped that no more would come into the building and get in her way.

Landing back on the ground, Huntress went straight to work as she showed not a single drop of mercy to her enemies. She stepped forward to slash the throat of a possession before decapitating a zombie. She swung her swords around to block any attacks that came in her way, which also helped in dismembering a couple of body parts. Of course, blood would end up spraying everywhere, which was totally gross, but it was something that she'd have to deal with.

Besides, it's not like she was bothered by blood in the first place. Killing things was always a fun activity for her, which is why she enjoyed what could very well be her final battle.

Going out in a blaze of glory was exactly how she always pictured her death. Huntress always knew that it would be in battle that she'd die so fighting in the Apocalypse and potentially dying was no big deal to her.

Her swords slashed through everything that dared to even look at her funny. She had used one of the Guardian's enchantments to strength the sharpness of her blades, which helped in a remarkable way. She easily sliced through bone and metal, thus making quick work of every creature until she dropped to her knees in a shower of blood.

Huntress bent her head down with her falling to the sides as the blood rained down all around her. She stayed to the ground for a long moment, her chest heaving as she took in so much vital air since she refused to breathe while fighting. The gory swords were her trophy in this showdown, her prize as she proved her true worth as a Spirit Hunter.

And scattered all around her was a pile of bleeding corpses. The ground was literally defiled by the blood of innocents that had been corrupted by demonic spirits. But at least they could be at peace now as the Spirit Hunter put an end to one threat just as another was awakening on the rooftop.

Dropping the gory weapons to the ground, Huntress carried her exhausted body to the elevator in order to catch up to the Guardian and help Justice stop the end of the world.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

The Vault of Souls was still eerily calm after the big eruption of demons and spirits. The entities from the Beyond were running amuck as New York faced a crisis greater than any other in the history of mankind. Certain doom awaited humanity if its Champion could not rise to the occasion, saving it from this fate.

It was a shame though that the Champion still couldn't find his will to fight. Sam still sat on his knees as the pool of blood from the rotting corpse soiled him. His mind sat on the edge of the void where nonexistence awaited him if he could not pull through. All of the souls that counted on him to stop the destruction were begging for their Champion to rise to the occasion.

A miracle would be needed for him to pull through.

Orsino seemed frustrated as he saw his progress reaching a great snag. He stared out into the ether to see that the demons and malevolent spirits had made remarkable progress. Almost a thousand lives were extinguished by death or possession, either way, it was a win for him. But it was the inside of the building that concerned him.

The army of demons and spirits that had summoned had been slaughtered by the Spirit Hunter. Now, he could see that his minion was failing him in putting an end to the Guardian. So much was going wrong with his plans, the only ones who had the power to stop much were allowed to make headway , which was not even remotely acceptable.

Sensing this as well, Sam could practically hear the fighting going on within the building. As the streets were lost in utter chaos, the call for Justice was proving to be too much to ignore. It was slowly beginning to pull the Spirit Warrior out from his state of shock, which would allow him to return to the reality.

"Damn it all to Hell!" growled Orsino. "Why is it that nobody can do anything right? How hard is it to kill a couple of idiots who are barely done with puberty? I'll have to go down there myself to kill them."

Justice could no longer be ignored, not when so many people were screaming for help.

Awakening, Sam escaped from his funk as he broke through the paralyzing words that Orsino had uttered to him. The blond slowly began to stand on his own two feet just as Orsino was about to deal with the problem only to see the Spirit Warrior rising. Sam's breathing was heavy as his soul returned to his body and power began to course through his veins.

Knowing just what was coming their way, Mason and Miguel took Mika away from there. The brothers tried to find someplace sturdy to hide behind just as Sam and Orsino were about to begin their battle.

"You should've just stayed down, Samuel," said Orsino. "It would've been so much easier on everyone if you just accepted the inevitable. Nothing can stop me now. The Door has already been opened."

"I can't let you get away with your crimes without facing some punishment," said Sam. "Since it is my fault that you are here and the world is slipping into Hell, I must pay penance for this as well. I will fight you, Orsino, until my last breath!"

Sam sprang into action as he flew at sonic speed towards Orsino. He swung his fist at the Spirit of Vengeance who managed to block the attack with the palm of his hand. Orsino had caught Sam's attack without any sign of being strained by with straining him.

Orsino pushed Sam aside before he began to crack his knuckles. The spirit became at ease with himself as he took towards Sam with a desire to rip the young man into pieces.

Meanwhile, Sam had crashed on top of an air unit, but managed not to break it or himself during the landing. The super-powered teenager gave out an agonizing grunt, yet refused to submit as he pushed himself back up. He couldn't allow himself to fall so easily. He had to keep on fighting for everybody, the whole world was counting on him to stop Orsino.

When Orsino's hands came at him, Sam grabbed onto the spirit's hands with his own. He used his own strength to push the spirit back as they both dragged their feet on the rooftop. In an effort to prove their superiority, the two titans collided in battle with the fate of the world as the prize.

One with the power to save the world and one with the power to destroy it, the moment of truth neared closer with each passing blow.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

There was so much pain in his body that he had no idea how he could tolerate much more of this. The Guardian was lying flat on his back, while Dave circled around him like a hungry shark. The young man was completely disheveled by the fighting that he had no idea at all how he was going to prove himself to be victorious.

Half of his robes were torn or covered by blood. One of his Sai was lost underneath one of the overturn desks, while Dave held onto the other. If the Guardian was going to have even the slightest chance at stopping Dave then he'd need both of his weapons. But most importantly, he'd need a strength greater than the one he already possessed.

The only problem was that out of all his powers, none of them was superhuman strength. That was the problem when he was fighting someone who could easily wipe the floor with him. And so far, Dave had done just that after all of their fighting.

No matter how hard the Guardian tried, Dave always proved himself the stronger in the end. It was always like this. Even when things had been normal between them, before all of the abuse, Dave could easily do whatever he wanted.

But the Guardian was tired of being a victim, Kurt was tired of being the damsel in distress. Nobody was here to save him now, only he could save himself.

Spotting his fallen weapon, Kurt found a small shred of hope in all of this. It wasn't too far away from him either so if he could just disarm Dave and grab his weapon then he might stand a chance in stopping this.

Twirling the Sai around in his hand, Dave continued to stroll all around the Guardian. The younger was badly beaten, while the elder was relishing in his almost victory. "Are you done fighting yet?" asked Dave. "I'd like to put an end to this pointless fight, if you don't mind. Maybe I can even bust a nut before I kill you."

"Go to Hell, David," Kurt growled with the utmost of malice.

Exploiting the convict's moment of exposure, Kurt struck Dave in his biggest weak spot. Dave always had sensitive ankles, which is why Kurt put all the pressure he could into that point no his body. The impact of the heel was enough to damage the ankle, forcing Dave to drop the Sai and fall down to his knee.

Kurt took his weapon back for Dave before diving towards his other one. His arm snuck underneath the desk to pull the fallen Sai out just as Dave limped towards him.

Seeing only red at this point, Kurt knew that this was the only chance he'd get at stopping Dave. There was no saving him, Kurt could see that now. The only good part of Dave had withered away and died a long time ago just like Kurt's innocence.

Flinging one of his Sai into the air, the blade spun until it managed to pierce Dave's chest. The blade hit Dave only inches away from his heart, but it was enough to stop Dave dead in his tracks. Kurt pushed himself from the ground with his other Sai in hand as he pulled the other one out from Dave's chest then used them both to slit his throat.

Blood flew everywhere in this gruesome moment as Kurt gave into something primal. The young man held onto his bloody weapons as he stared into the eyes of the dying man with nothing but hate for him. "You deserve to die," Kurt said, feeling tears run down his face. "I hate you with every fiber of my being. I won't allow you to hurt anyone else."

Dave covered his bloody throat, choking on his blood as he dropped down to his knees. His eyes never left Kurt's face until the moment his life finally came to an end. Dave fell to the ground with his blood pooling around the both of them.

Kurt held back his urge to panic as he realized what he did was the right thing. There was no gentle way of stopping Dave, only death would put a stop to Dave. He was too wicked of a man to even consider showing any mercy to.

But it still made Kurt feel filth by what he did. He tried not to think of that too much though as he turned to the roof access with his thoughts now all about rescuing Sam.

And just when he least expected it, the elevator doors opened up. Kurt paused as he took sight of an equally bloody Ayla who was now weaponless but looked like a complete disaster. Ayla saw Kurt and began to smile at him at least until she saw the dead body not too far away from him.

"Did you do that?" asked Ayla.

"Psycho ex-boyfriend," Kurt said, softly. "Let's go help Sam. We took too long."

"Yeah," mumbled Ayla. She nodded her head at Kurt, but her eyes never left the body. She had always thought about doing that to some of her ex-boyfriends, but never did.

Remembering just what they were here for though, Ayla joined up with Kurt to go rescue their buddy and save the world. Now, the real fun was about to begin.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

The Spirit Warrior found himself too weak against the Spirit of Vengeance. Sam's powers were barely enough to let him hold his own against the malevolent spirit, but it was nowhere near enough to actually let him come out victorious. He fought with all of his heart though, refusing to surrender without at least trying to stop Orsino and close the Vault of Souls.

All of these wicked spirits and demons weren't going to destroy his home or anyone that he cared about. Sam refused to allow the world to bleed into destruction, so he used every bit of strength he had in him as he challenged the spirit in combat.

Orsino easily blocked the punches and kicks that were being thrown at him. It took only one hand to best everything that Sam threw his way, which made this all the more laughable for the vengeful spirit. Orsino spun around to the size to avoid the size ten and a half boot that was aimed for his head. With a swift movement, Orsino smashed his fist into the hip of the young Spirit Warrior, leaving behind a lasting wound.

Sam stumbled backward as his balance was briefly shattered in the light of his injury. He wouldn't allow this to be the end of him though as he prayed for a quick recovery. He tried to avoid moving too quickly with that part of his body, so now he had to rely on his right more now, which was his weaker side.

The two warriors collided into the face of battle once more. Sam called on his old football skills by tackling Orsino down to the ground. He used his full body weight to push the spirit down with him on top of the diabolical creature.

Orsino groaned in pain from the impact as he pushed Sam away with a vicious growl. He unleashed a wave of energy from his chest that knocked the Spirit Warrior into the air. In attempt to finish this, the spirit conjured a knife out of thin air, which he threw at the heart of his opponent.

The knife sparkled in the air as it neared the vulnerable Spirit Warrior. Sam saw the knife coming at him and knew that he was unable to do anything but watch himself die.

But a miracle intervened as another blade spun to intercept Orsino's knife. The two weapons crashed into one another, causing them both to be pushed far away from Sam. As the weapons fell to the ground, Sam could easily spot the weapon that saved his life.

It was a Sai, a weapon of a Guardian.

Sam managed to land on the ground without doing any added injury to himself. Well, his hip still hurt like a bitch, but that was something he'd have to deal with later though. Right now, he found himself too happy as he saw Kurt and Ayla standing by the roof access.

The remaining Valentines could spot them from their hiding place. Mika seemed a little too happy to see them, while his brothers were a little more confused by who they were. All while Orsino was less than thrilled by this development. It seemed that his servants had failed him, yet again, which came as no surprise to him.

Orsino cracked his neck as he prepared to face all three of them. It looked like he'd have to clean this mess up all on his own. "You three have been such a thorn to my side," said the vengeful spirit. "A Spirit Warrior, a Guardian, and a Spirit Hunter; the trifecta of meddlesome creatures have all been assembled to drive me insane! I shattered your spirit once, Samuel, when I attacked all your little friends. Then I thought I broke you again when I killed that other Guardian, but his replacement has decided to get in my way now!"

Ayla's body tensed up with the hairs on her neck standing up. She crouched to the ground as she prepared to jump the monster before him. "You're the one responsible for killing Kai!" she shouted, viciously. "You son of a bitch! I'll rip your guts out."

For a moment, Sam paused as he thought back on the attack that Orsino was talking about. Even Kurt could remember it because that was the day when their friend Artie had been left paralyzed. The creature that attacked them was Orsino, or at least a human that he had taken possession of, but still him.

Sam could truly see Orsino for what he really was. He was more than just a monster, he was something far worse that truly needed to be put down once and for all!

"I won't allow you to hurt anyone else, Orsino," said Sam. "You killed Kai and you paralyzed an innocent, not to mention all the other countless lives you've ruined since you came back to this world until now." The Spirit Warrior clenched his fists into balls with the flesh turning white as Justice coursed throughout his veins. He felt the spirit within him growing stronger, in response to this, his entire body began to glow as he looked into the eyes of the Spirit of Vengeance. "Justice must be paid in full! You have to be stopped now before another soul can be hurt by your wicked malice!"

"You and what army?" laughed Orsino. "Nothing you can do will stop me, Justice. Vengeance is eternal, Vengeance is the ultimate form of Justice!"

"And you are wrong again," said Sam. "Forgiveness is Justice's purest form, but you are beyond forgiveness. You allowed yourself to be blackened by your hate, by Darkness." The light that was growing within him felt so foreign to the young man. This light belonged to neither him or Justice, but it felt beautiful and strong. The power that was stirring within him made him believe that he could defeat Orsino, but it also helped him in understanding the foe he faced.

His beautiful light made a tear run down his checks as he sensed Orsino's pain now. He could see the sorrowful creature that was lost in all that hate and only the light could end this suffering. This was something that he believed with all of his soul, it was all because of this growing light within him.

"I pity you, Orsino, for everything that you lost," said Sam, "but this has gone too far. It is time for you to face Justice, be bathed now by the Light!"

Sam brought his hands together with all the light that he summoned up taking form at that point. The light hurtled from Sam's hands like a rocket as it raced towards the wide-eyed Orsino. The spirit was unable to do anything as the approaching light left him stuck to the ground with it crashing into his very being.

A horrible yell escaped the lips of Orsino as the light ascended up into the sky. Orsino felt the body that he attained crumbling before him as he fell to his hands and knees. The spirit's physical form began to fade away as he returned to his incorporeal form, the form of a true spirit.

The light that Sam unleashed was a power beyond any that he possessed. In fact, the light did not belong to him. It felt kinder, gentler then the righteous power bestowed upon him from Justice. The power was closer to love, hope, and even…faith.

Sam dropped to his knees as exhaustion began to overwhelm him. Whatever it was that had taken control of his body for that moment, left him physically drained. If Orsino tried anything else then there was nothing he could do to stop him.

Soon enough, Kurt and Ayla stood beside Sam just as Orsino's spiritual form began to stir by the Vault.

Orsino dug his ethereal hands into the ground that he could not touch. He picked his ghostly head up to stare into the eyes of the Champion that had believed he had him defeated. "I won't die," uttered Orsino. "I cannot perish. I am Vengeance, I am eternal!"

"Enough of this, Malcolm!" said a voice, erupting from the Vault of Souls. "This must stop now!"

The strength of the voice was powerful enough to make everyone bow down. There was a wave of light that shot out from the Vault as a new power arose from the depths of the beyond.

Expecting some kind of godly entity to emerge, everyone was in shock to see a small figure stepping out from the Vault of Souls. What was more surprising was that the entity took the form of a woman, her body spiritual and ghostly just as Orsino's form as well. She wore a long, white dress that covered her womanly form beautiful with her grayed hair tied into a knot by a single ribbon.

Orsino saw her and found himself lost as he gazed upon her form. The Spirit of Vengeance began to stand up as he struggled to even let out a single word. "It…it can't be you," whispered the vengeful spirit. "Is it…is it truly you, my Leandra?"

"I am here, Malcolm," said the ghost of Leandra. "It has been long, my husband."

And this somehow felt very bad for the heroes and the spectators. If Orsino's wife was here then that would likely mean that she'd help him in his plot for vengeance. At least, that was until Sam felt the spirit of the woman and recognized it as the one that had helped him defeat Orsino.

What was she doing here?

"My love," cried Orsino, "I have missed you so much. I have done all of this for you, love. And the children. The decedents of the monsters that killed our family shall finally be punished along with the rest of humanity!"

"This ends here, Malcolm!" shouted Leandra. "My husband would never do something so wicked. You must reclaim yourself, Malcolm, release your vengeance, remember who you truly are!"

"Vengeance is all I have!" shouted Orsino. "I couldn't find you in the afterlife. They kept you and the children from me!"

Leandra approached her husband, bending down to her knees to touch his face. It seemed that the mere contact with his long lost wife was enough to pull Orsino, who was really Malcolm, from his burst of rage. "We stayed away from you because it wasn't safe," she said, softly. "The children feared your vengeance and so did I. We prayed that you'd forgive yourself for what happened, our deaths were not your fault."

Orsino tried to say another word, but she stopped him. Leandra turned Orsino's head to the side so that he could truly gaze upon the horrors that he unleashed upon the human world. "It has been a long time, husband," she said, softly. "You forgot about us as your vengeance blinded you. You didn't even think of the possibility of our children being reborn into this world. In fact, they are in this very city that you unleashed an army of demons upon. If we do not stop these creatures then our children will perish once more."

Gazing upon the city as the truth dawned on him was enough to shattered the desire for vengeance. Orsino's mind went at ease for the first time in centuries as he looked upon his beautiful wife. "It cannot be done though," uttered Orsino. "The Vault…the Vault has been opened. Nothing can stop this now. I…I am sorry, Leandra. I have failed yet again."

"Not yet," said Leandra. "I have assembled the other benevolent spirits to help us. The Vault of Souls can only be closed by sealing it from both sides. The spirits and humans must unite in order to close the Door, dragging the spirits and demons back into our realm."

Leandra looked over to the young warriors and the spectators. She pulled away from her husband, extending out a hand to them all. "Please, help us," she begged them. "As the Spirit of Faith, I ask that you help us save this beautiful world from my husband's vengeance and from the creatures he unleashed upon it. Together, we can stop the end of the world."

"You're a spirit?" said Sam. "Why did you help me fight your husband?"

"Because, you are the Champion," said the Spirit of Faith. "You were the only one with the power to save this world so I gave you my power to fight my husband. You opened the heart that had been so blanketed by Darkness, allowing him to be saved. Please, Samuel, help us now."

Stepping forward, the Spirit Hunter bore a cocky grin on her face as she slowly approached the double-doors of the Vault of Souls. Kurt wasn't too far behind her as he took to the other Door. "We're in," said Ayla. She looked back, spotting the Valentine boys who were still hiding. "Hey boys, you gonna help us or are you just going to sit there with your tails between your legs?"

Mika pulled away from his brothers, nodding his head. Part of this was his fault so the least he could do was attempt to clean up this mess. He joined Ayla in attempt to seal the Vault of Souls. His brothers soon joined them as well, taking to the door that Kurt was attempting to push close.

Sam began to stand up and was on his way to help them when Orsino stepped in front of him. He almost expected to get into another fight, but the spirit only pointed towards the chalice on the ground.

"If we are to seal the Vault then the chalice must be destroyed," Orsino. "It has the power to summon the Vault of Souls. Destroying it will ensure that nobody could ever summon it again. Only someone stronger than a human can destroy the chalice, it will take a Champion to destroy it for good."

"I understand," said Sam.

The worst part was that Sam truly understood what Orsino meant by it requiring a Champion. The chalice was a powerful relic that couldn't be destroyed by normal means. So this could very well mean that Sam would have to do something drastic in order to destroy it.

Orsino and Leandra stepped into the closing Door, hand in hand, so to join the army of benevolent spirits. Together, they would attempt to seal the Vault of Souls so they could stop the Apocalypse by dragging the army of malevolent creatures back.

And Sam would have to make the greatest sacrifice to truly put an end to all of this.

Sam held the chalice in his hands, touching the hard gems that were encrusted along the sides. The blood of both Drake and Magnus Valentine stained the cup. So much blood had been spilt today, Sam would make certain that his blood would be the last of it.

Sam went over to Kurt, pulling his fiancé away from the closing Door. He pressed his lips against Kurt as he took in that sweat scent for what he felt like would be the final time. And in that moment, Kurt's mind went completely blank as he failed to realize just what Sam was about to do. He was so heavily lost by his breath being taken away from him, by the man he loved more than anything else in this world.

"I love you, Kurt, forever," whispered Sam.

But before Kurt could utter his response, Sam ran away from him. Kurt's heart stopped beating as he watched Sam running towards the edge of the building. At once, he knew exactly what Sam was about to do and he tried to stop him by screaming his name at the top of his lungs.

Sam jumped from the top of the building and allowed himself to plummet down to the ground. He tried to crush the chalice with all of his might as he held the relic in front of him as he dive-bombed his way to the ground. Tears would've begun to stream down his face, but Sam knew only peace as he fell to his death.

The chalice could only be destroyed by the sacrifice of a Champion. Nothing else could destroy it but the death of a hero, Sam had to give up his life or else this nightmare would continue for someone else in the future.

As Death approached, Sam saw his beautiful life flash before his very eyes. He could see everything before him, everyone that he loved and was a part of his heart would be taken with him to the next life. Sam could only pray that he'd finally get his chance with Kurt in the next life, but he was grateful for what they had in this one.

Sam would die without any regrets.

Just above him, on the rooftop of the building, everyone managed to push the Vault of Souls to a close. The Door was sealed at last, creating a shinning pillar of light to ascend to the sky as it called back the invasion of spirits and demons. The threat that would destroy this world was slowly being withdrawn, freeing all of the innocents from this horrible nightmare.

And it was all about to end. Sam closed his eyes as gravity pulled him down to the ground floor to where he'd embrace the arms of Death like an old friend.

With the chalice outstretched in front of him, Sam embraced the end. His last words were "I love you", which was directed to nobody specific. His final words were for everyone because this young Champion loved this world and everybody in it. This was his sacrifice for everybody, this was his gift to the world.

The chalice touched the ground first, stopping Sam from being a flatten pancake. As a crack took form on the chalice, breaking its magick, a second pillar of light erupted at this point. The magical energies contained within the chalice were severed and were released upon impact. The key to summoning the Vault of Souls was destroyed, thus the word would finally be at peace now.

Sam felt everything go dark even as this overwhelming light illuminated the city along with the light form the Vault of Souls as the hero let out his dying breath.


	20. A Magic called Love

**Author's Note:** Here it is my lovely fans, the final chapter of "Hero". It has been a blast writing this story for you guys. All of your reviews and alerts have motivated me to keep up with this story when at times I felt like giving up. I owe you guys. Thanks for all of the support. And if you wish, read my other stories on FF. Well, that is all. Thank you again everyone. - Xeikm

**A Magic called Love:**

(Kurt)

The battle was finally over for them as the sun began to rise.

The Vault of Souls had been sealed, the spirits and demons were banished to their own realm, and the chalice was destroyed. The Earth was freed from its torment as annihilation had been averted by the bravery of three, young heroes.

Conflict had finally been brought to an end.

But there was something that still needed to be dealt with. There was no sign of Sam, which caused knots to form in Kurt's stomach as he left the rooftop of Valentine Industries. Once this supernatural lightshow came to an end, they felt it necessary to get out of the building before anything else could happen. All around them, there was carnage left behind from the invasion that had nearly wiped out the city. Kurt searched for any sign of Sam, but couldn't find a damn thing until they reached the ground floor.

There was a crowd gathering outside, survivors of the Apocalypse that had barely went away. Kurt ran out of the building with Ayla and the remaining Valentine boys following his lead. Miguel was still helping the half-injured Mika, while Mason stayed close to Ayla who practically ignored them all.

Kurt was the first one to make it to the scene before them. The typically smooth ground became a small crater with something in the middle of all it. He could spot a body there with shinning objects that sparkled like diamonds all around. His mind instantly jumped to the worst as he dove into the crater, screaming Sam's name at the top of his lungs.

On the one part of the ground that wasn't devastated, it was almost a pedestal that held Sam's body up. The blond was still, unmoving and breathless. Kurt took notice to the picture of perfection that was Sam, even from his fall and that ferocious light, Sam was perfect. The cuts, scrapes, and blood were all gone, leaving behind a clean, young man that seemed unaffected at all by the Apocalypse.

But that was the wrong assumption to make because the Champion had made the greatest of all sacrifices on this day.

Kurt searched for a pulse, but found only nothing. The grim reality of Sam's decision was rearing its ugly head in front of Kurt's face, leaving behind only utter devastation in its wake. "No," whispered the young man, "no…you can't be gone. Sam…Sam…you can't be dead. Samuel, wake up! Please, God! You can't have him. You can't have Sam!"

The name was shouted into the air with every last strength of his breath. Kurt couldn't think of doing anything else as he grieved for true love, of the happy future that was bitterly taken from him.

Everything ended before it had a chance to begin.

An innocent life had to pay penance for the sins of the wicked.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

Light, all he could remember was a bright light and a few scattered images. Other than that, everything was a complete blank to him. No memories were left behind of the life he lived, if he even lived a life. But there was one memory in particular that stood out from all the rest; well an image seemed to be more of a better description for it.

He remembered a smile, a beautiful smile that seemed to bring some warmth back into his cold body.

Opening his eyes, there was nothing to be seen but miles and miles of light. It was an empty light with nothing and nobody else there to greet him. This place was so strange to him; he couldn't exactly remember what brought him here or where he even was.

It was a slow process but the scattered memories began to piece themselves back together as he walked along this space of light. The first thing that came to him was his own name; he was Samuel Kyle Evans, or just Sam for short.

That in itself felt like a miracle to him, however, it was only going to get worse from there as only the memories of pain and heartache began to surface. Sam clung onto his head as he held back the urge to scream bloody murder into the space of Oblivion. But he couldn't hold back anymore because biting down on his tongue just wasn't helping him.

Sam screamed like his life deepened on it as the memories assaulted him. It all culminated to a moment of intense pain as saw a car hitting him. The memories grew far more intense as he saw people hitting him, fighting him. Things changed when he felt pain in his chest, not from fists but of the loss of losing someone close to him.

There were a lot of things that caused Sam heartache; one image in particular disturbed him the most. What he saw was the one with a beautiful smile in such horrific pain as he sat in the backseat of a car. The beautiful smile was scared and blackened by the deeds of a wicked man, which made his blood boil until he started throwing his fists into the air.

After that, things finally began to reach their dawn.

The images of beauty felt wonderful as it brought tears to Sam's eyes. He could see more than just the one with a beautiful smile; he could see so many other faces and happy memories that it shook his very soul. He couldn't help but to smile as their names started to reach out to him, completing the broken pieces of his soul until finally the final memory came to him.

Sam was falling, he was falling to Death. It wasn't something that frightened him though because he remembered what the fall was like. Death was exactly what he wanted, not because he was depressed or suicidal, but because it would offer protection. Salvation could only be brought through his Death, the death of a Champion.

It had all come back to him now. All the memories of his life were restored, bringing Sam back together so that he could be hole yet again.

He was a hero, a Champion for the people.

Most importantly, Sam could remember that he was loved in his life. The beautiful life that he lived was full of disappointment and heartache, but there was so much joy and happiness in it that it dispelled all of that negativity.

And that's how Sam Evans was able to accept that he was dead. He was now part of the Spirit Realm, the very realm where he banished an army of malevolent spirits and demons to. But he had no fear for them because he felt that his heart was strong. At least, what was left of his heart kept things together for him.

Sam moved onward into the Spirit Realm when he heard voices that pulled back those precious, happy memories. He looked behind him to see figures standing behind him, which appeared to be ghostly, yet very real. So real in fact that it brought a smile to Sam's face once he recognized them for who they were.

The man, well, he looked so much like Sam, but older and with a couple of extra pounds. His blond hair was much shorter, almost like it was buzzed. He also wore whites robes whereas Sam only had white slacks on with his bare chest exposed. As for the other spirit, the little girl was young, looking as if she were only eight or so. She was a skinny, little thing with long, blonde hair that went all over the place. Her white dress was beautiful, like it was made for the perfect doll or a beautiful, little girl.

"Dad," whispered Sam. "Stacy."

"Hello son," said his father, Stan Evans.

"Hi Sammy!" cheered his sister, Stacy Evans.

The father and daughter walked towards Sam with their hands interlocked together. The two looked exactly how Sam remembered them before they had died and were buried in the ground. But that was something that Sam kept to himself since he was positive that they knew what had happened to them. It had, after all, been almost a decade since they died in that car accident.

Sam couldn't help but to cry as he threw his arms around them, balling as he felt the arms of his father and sister back around him. He never imagined that he'd have the chance to be reunited with his family again. Dying was the most obvious solution, but Sam had never imagined that it would happen like this.

"We are very proud of you, Sam," said his father. "You saved the world. You sacrificed yourself to protect everyone that you loved. I am proud of the young man that you became."

"You're super cool, Sam!" said Stacy. "I'm glad that I have a hero like you for a big brother."

Their compliments did help to boost Sam's dead ego, but he wasn't exactly sure how that would help. But hearing that they had been watching over him was a very comfortable feeling for him. It warmed what was left of his soul to know that his father and sister were never truly gone, they had still walked life's journey with him.

But time came for them.

Stan and Stacy Evans locked hands once more before stepping away from Sam. As they retreated into the light that opened up behind them, Sam caught glimpse of a beautiful garden with a massive tree at his heart. His father and sister smiled at him, once more, before disappearing into this garden without any hesitation.

Sam tried to go in after them, but the portal to Paradise had been closed. He couldn't understand why this happened if he was dead.

Why wasn't he allowed to move on?

Why couldn't he go onto Heaven?

* * *

><p>Lost in this endless light, Sam became a wanderer in the Spirit Realm. He searched for any sign to the end of the light, for something that could bring him out of this endless world. It was his family that he truly searched for, his father and sister.<p>

There was nothing for Sam in this world, he could tell that he didn't belong here. The Spirit Realm was not a place for the former Spirit Warrior. He couldn't believe that this is where he'd be stuck at. It was painful for him to think that he'd be trapped in the Spirit Realm for the rest of eternity, especially after the sacrifice he made to save the world.

He figured that the Power That Be would treat him a little more mercifully. He did die to prevent the total destruction of the Earth. Now, if that didn't guarantee him entrance into Paradise then nothing could. He couldn't see how anyone could get into Heaven if dying to save the world wasn't worthy of being considered a Golden Ticket.

Sam took one step forward in the endless road of light before feeling something tugging at his very essence. He clenched onto his chest, letting out a painful growl before seeing the scenery change before him.

No longer on the road of endless light, Sam had been transported into the ruins of a temple. His young mind couldn't process just where he was, but the place seemed remarkably ancient like it belonged to Ancient Egypt or Greece.

Wherever he was, Sam couldn't deny that the place was beautiful even in ruins.

But as Sam drew closer to the temple, a lone figure emerged from the ruins to greet the young Champion. The figure was bathed in the afterglow of a divine light with now true physical form besides a suit of armor that kept its form together. "At last, we meet again, Samuel," said the mysterious figure. "We have been together for so long, but we haven't spoken in ages. It seems only appropriate that we speak one last time."

"How do you know who I am?" asked Sam.

"I am Justice," said the spirit. "I am the one who marked you as my Chosen Warrior when you sacrificed yourself for Kurt. I have been with you all these years now."

The voice of the spirit was like that of an old friend. Sam couldn't help but to smirk as he truly believed the suit of armor standing before him. He approached the spirit with a deep breath escaping his chest until they were standing face to face.

"Why did you choose me?" asked Sam. "I don't understand what made me so special. I'm just a simple country boy from Tennessee."

"Your heart has always been your greatest weapon, Samuel," said the Spirit of Justice. "You always had a strong desire to always do what is right, to protect others in need, and to sacrifice yourself for the greater good are you most remarkable qualities. That is why I chose you. Nobody else in the entire world was more nobler than you, only you had the power to defeat Orsino's Vengeance and save the world from destruction."

"But Orsino said that it was because of me that he was able to break free," said Sam. "If that's true then why bother making me into a Spirit Warrior? It sounds like you just wanted to see the world in danger just so you could save it."

"Do not misunderstand me," the spirit said, patiently. "Orsino would've found a way into the Mortal World with or without your assistance. You were just the first opportunity that had presented itself to him. And if not Orsino then another evil would've sought to do what he did, the Vault of Souls needed to be permanently sealed. This was the only way do make certain that nobody could ever be hurt by your kind so severally."

"So then the world is truly saved then?" asked Sam. "It'll never be in danger again?"

The Spirit of Justice shook its armored head as it began to step away from the young man. The armored spirit turned towards the bright sun that stood over the beautiful ruins. "Evil will always threaten the world until humanity learns to end its desires for malice," said Justice. "Until that day comes, a Champion will always be chosen to defend the world from the worst of them. A Champion will protect the world whenever he or she is needed."

"Now, Samuel," said Justice, "I must say that you did far better than I could ever expect. I never imagined that there would ever be a Champion who could accomplish what you did. So I thank you, Samuel. You stand out amongst all of the Champions before you."

There was a bit of warmth rushing through his chest as Sam began to smile. He looked at the spirit and watched as the sun majestically began to shine over its armor. "So do I get to go to Heaven now?" asked Sam. "Will I meet Jesus? Is he nice, I hear he is pretty nice."

"I'm afraid not, Samuel," said the spirit. "Heaven will have to wait for you. Right now, you've been given a third chance. This is the last time that you and I will ever meet or interact with each other. From now on, you'll just be an ordinary human with an ordinary life."

Sam couldn't help but to smile as he wanted to just tackle the spirit and give it a big hug. But before Sam could even twitch, the spirit vanished from sight of the ancient ruins.

Yet, he was still there. Sam didn't vanish into any light, no vortex swallowed him up, and these were no angel taking him anywhere. If he was going to get another chance at a life then shouldn't one of the above happen to him at least?

That question was answered though when Sam turned around to see a familiar face standing behind him.

Possibly the last person that Sam could've expected to see was standing right there before him. He was dressed in his old robes, looking exactly as he did the day that he died. The tanned, smooth features of his held the same life that it did when he was alive. Still though, he stood a few inches shorter than Sam and was about half his size in body mass.

Kai grinned as he stepped away from the light that had brought him to Sam. He extended his arms out to the young man with a slight laugh escaping his chest. "I was wondering when you'd show up," said the deceased Guardian. "I heard that you stopped the Apocalypse, good job, Sam. I knew that you had it in you to do great things, Champion."

A pair of arms was thrown around his body, squeezing what would've been the life out of Kai if he were still alive. Tears started to run down Sam's face as he hugged his fallen friend, smelling his scent and listening to his breathing. It was almost like Sam had Kai back as if he was still alive and they were hanging out back in the apartment.

Just like the old days before everything had gone to hell.

"Don't cry for me, Sam," said Kai, "I'm quite alright. You should be more concerned about the people that you left behind."

Sam pulled away from Kai, continuing to cry a little though as he still remembered the day that he lost his friend. Then Kurt was chosen to be his replacement, to be a Guardian. So much had transpired in the last couple of months that Sam thought his head would spin off of his shoulders.

"We've missed you, Kai," said Sam. "Life just hasn't been the same without you. It's been too painful to not have you around."

"Such is life," said Kai. "But don't worry, Sam, you'll get to go back to living. This will be your third chance at living so don't blow it so quickly! You won't have any super powers to protect you so I highly recommend that you look both ways before crossing the street."

"I will," laughed Sam.

"Good luck, Champion," said Kai.

As those words were uttered from the deceased Guardian's mouth, a vortex began to take form. Within its depths was the very city that Sam had sacrificed himself to protect. Sam looked to see that his body was on the ground with Kurt screaming his name at the top of his lungs. It pained to see Kurt suffering so much, but Sam almost didn't want to leave this peaceful place behind him.

"I guess this is goodbye again, old friend," said Sam. "I'll tell everybody that you said hi."

Sam began to make his way forward, back to where he belonged. Kai held his hand up to wave his friend off before a vortex opened up that take him back to Heaven. "Thanks," said Kai. The former Guardian was about to walk away as well when a thought suddenly occurred to him. He called back Sam's attention so to say his final farewell. "Oh, and congratulations on the wedding, you and Kurt are going to have a long road ahead of you."

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Sam.

"I didn't say anything," said Kai, "but you will raise a child who will father the world's next Champion. And let's just say that there are big plans for her. She will be just like her grandfather and change the fate of the world."

Not wishing to say another word, Kai bowed as he vanished into Paradise. The former Guardian was lost to Sam, which meant that there was only one thing left to do.

Taking the cryptic warning, Sam smiled as he stepped into the portal that would send his soul back to the world of the living. He could pray that the ride back would be far less painful than the ride that took him hear.

And he wasn't wrong.

* * *

><p>(Ayla)<p>

It was Hell watching Kurt crying out in pain. He was constantly screaming Sam's name every other second, which probably gave out Sam's secret by now. That is why Ayla crawled down the crater with the Valentine brothers to help cover up the mess that could be made. She unzipped her jacket and peeled it off her skin so to cover her head.

Miguel, Mason, and Mika used their own jackets to make a shield around the screaming Kurt and the deceased Sam. A crowd had gathered above them, but most filtered away to deal with their own post-Apocalypse affairs. Lots of lives had been lost in the fight so it was only natural for people to try to find out what fate might have befallen their family and friends.

Kurt clung onto Sam's chilling body with all his might. His screams had died out from exhausting his vocal cords, forcing him just to weep over Sam's body. Every other moment, he choked on one of his sobs as he begged every single god out there to do something to bring Sam back to him.

Gazing upon this heartache, it made Ayla regret wanting to pry Kurt away from him. She tried to keep to herself as she placed a hand on his shoulder as she attempted to comfort that grief. It was so remarkably painful, but Ayla nearly uttered those fatal words to Kurt when a miracle happened.

For the first time since finding his body, Kurt was completely silent. They all turned to Sam's body when they saw him taking in a breath followed by another. And then came the great gasp for air followed by a horrid cough as Sam was brought back to the world of the living.

"Sam!" cried Kurt as he threw his arms around him.

Ayla couldn't believe what she was seeing, but couldn't help but to cheer for joy as well. She allowed her emotions to get the better of her as she dropped to her knees and threw herself around her homos. She hugged the both of them with almost all her might. She couldn't help but to tear up as she placed her head against Sam's shoulder.

The trio was united once again, proving that not even Death could keep them apart.

But the best of the celebration would have to wait a while longer. The crowd above them had grown more curious and was beginning to dangerously approach the depths of the crater. This was a cause for alarm as the Valentines tried to protect the heroes' identities with their jackets, which was the least they could do considering what their father and brother did.

The sudden shock of returning to life left Sam completely weak. Miguel had to help Sam get back on his feet with Kurt doing his best to cover them both up while refusing to let go of Sam's arm despite being completely exhausted. Mason was on standby, ready to do anything he could to help out, while Mika did his best to help out an exhausted Ayla as well.

It was almost a battle in itself to get away from the crater. The heroes were so badly broken from all of the fighting with Sam being the worst of them all. Their Champion barely uttered a single word since returning, his first words being "hi". After that, the young man was consumed by his lack of energy and the exhausting resurrection that brought him back here.

They made it out though and got away from the crowd soon enough until they became wanderers on this war torn road.

* * *

><p>(Kurt)<p>

After everything that happened, it took a year for the city to heal from the scars left behind from the Apocalypse. The sacrifices made and the lives that were lost would never be forgotten for anyone. There were no government cover-ups or anything of the like because the devastation had been recorded and streamed all over the internet.

Hundreds of thousands of people all over the world were able to see the destruction taking place in New York with their own eyes. There was no way that anybody could convince anybody of anything else.

The slow process of restoring the city as the Earth knew true "peace" for the first time in centuries was a tough pill to swallow. Everything really was peaceful as order was brought back to the world, even if it was only a temporary Band-Aid. There would come a time when another war began, but that would be a long time from now.

So the time eventually came for Sam to make his report as Justice. He told everyone what happened, at least what he could share, by telling them how malevolent spirits invaded their world. He also said that the destruction of the world had been averted and the wicked spirits had been pushed back into their realm by him sacrificing his powers. He gave up the power to fight so to protect the entire world from ruin.

Justice was hailed a hero after that, but like with all things, he was eventually forgotten within a year. Without his heroics to keep him on the headlines, Justice became just a memory, which was fine for him. Sam had had put his uniform on for the last time, he was happy to know that he was finally able to move forward with all his own plans.

It was a tough debate to come up with who was more excited, Sam or Kurt.

Getting Sam back was the happiest moment of Kurt's life. He never let Sam out of his sight for long after that, especially since they had a lot of serious plans to put together. They did, after all, have a wedding to plan.

So within the summer after the Apocalypse, it was finally decided that they would walk down the aisle on the second Saturday of June.

All of the butterflies and nerves couldn't stop them at this point. Sam and Kurt were ready to devote their lives to each other, and they would do it standing before a group of family and friends. They would celebrate in Central Park at their lovely corner that they had set up special for their ceremony.

Sam walked down the aisle with his mom hanging onto his arm. In the black suit that Kurt had picked out from him, Sam was the epitome of handsomeness. He smiled as he passed by all of the familiar faces: some of his more distant family members, his old friends from high school, his new friends, and even some people who he had no idea who they were. That didn't exactly matter to him since this was the most important day of his life and nothing would ruin that. Today, he would marry the most incredible guy in the entire world.

As he took his place at the front of the archway, Kurt could be seen stepping out from the trees. His father had his arm, which really gave him the illusion of being the blushing bride. It didn't exactly help that Kurt's face was a little red from the mixture of nerves and anticipation. Kurt stood out though in his white suit that really showed off his remarkable and beautiful features that made Sam's jaw drop once they were standing side by side.

Taking each other's hands, Sam and Kurt were ready to embark on their destiny together as the priest began to perform the ceremony.

The two of them didn't have a wedding party behind them because they didn't exactly want to show favoritism. That and they just couldn't pick from all the extraordinary people that were in their lives.

So Blaine and Ayla sat together, while Stevie was there with his uncle and mother. Stevie had grown up quite a bit in the past year, especially since he finally learned his brother's alter ego. They did keep one secret though; they didn't want to tell Stevie about Sam dying so to keep him from completely freaking out.

Kurt had his family there for him as well. His dad and stepmother were proudly smiling at him with even Finn showing some teeth. All of their buddies from the New Directions were there as well, including Mr. and Mrs. Schue.

While the ceremony was underway, Ayla felt a slight shiver with something that felt like fingertips touching her shoulder. Considering how beautiful she looked today in that strapless, black dress, Ayla expected some looks and touching, but this was different. The chill was not of this world, which was a cause for alarm to her.

But when Ayla slowly turned her head to the side, she could see only the light from the sun. She thought she was just going crazy until she looked back to see a familiar man standing between the trees. His body was transparent and wispy like any spirit, but his face and the suit that he wore was as clear as day to her, which was a cause for her to shed a tear.

Kai smiled at Ayla as he held a hand up to wave just at her.

"And now with the power invested in me," said the priest, "I know pronounce you both united in marriage. You may now kiss."

With their love truly binding them together, Sam and Kurt shared their first kiss as a married couple with a thunderous applause flowing behind them.

* * *

><p>(Blaine)<p>

The reception was far from over when Blaine took his steps onto the stage. He lightly tapped on the microphone to make sure it was working properly before holding it up to his lips. As the music smiled, he began to smile at the crowd dancing which included the happy couple.

This was just one of the many gifts to the happy couple from young Blaine Anderson. He felt it his duty to shower them with so much since they were his truest friends and especially considering the hell of a trip that they had been through after all of these years.

"If you ever leave me, baby," sang Blaine, "leave some morphine at my door. 'Cause it would take a whole lot of medication to realize what we used to have, we don't have it anymore."

Everyone either listened or danced along to the words that were being sung. Amongst the group of dancers though was Mika Valentine who was there with his sister and brothers. Since the Apocalypse, the Valentines had been working diligently in repairing the honor of their family, but not through criminal means. What had happened was a real eye-opener for Mason and Miguel as they realized just how wicked their family was.

The Valentines scaled back on the weapons production and merged with Anderson Industries to develop more medical advances. They had already succeeded in creating a new treatment for cancer patients and children suffering from diabetes. It would take a lot of work though before the sins of the father and the son were purged from the family, but they were all willing to do whatever it took.

"There's no religion that could save me. No matter how long my knees are on the floor. So keep in mind all the sacrifices I'm makin' to keep you by my side, to keep you from walkin' out the door."

"'Cause there'll be no sunlight if I lose you, baby. There'll be no clear skies if I lose you, baby. Just like the clouds my eyes will do the same, if you walk away, everyday, it'll rain, rain, rain."

Sam and Kurt were the true stars of the event though. The two were at the center of the dance floor that was set up in a reception hall within the park. The stars and moon were peaking in just right with the small lake in the background just setting off the scene. As the white lights twinkled like the stars themselves, it created a beautiful atmosphere that made the two of them very envious to friends and family.

But that didn't matter to them, they were just happy to be now finally sharing their lives together.

"I'll never be your mother's favorite. Your daddy can't even look me in the eye. Ooh, if I was in their shoes, I'd be doing the same thing, sayin' 'there goes my little girl walkin' with that troublesome guy'."

"But they're just afraid of something they can't understand. Ooh, but little darlin' watch me change their minds. Yeah for you I'll try, I'll try, I'll try, I'll try. I'll pick up these broken pieces 'til I'm bleeding. If that'll make you mine."

Blaine pulled the microphone away from his mouth for a moment to give himself a chance to recover. It was then that he caught sight of Ayla standing by the exit with a glass in hand that she finished off. "'Cause there'll be no sunlight if I lose you, baby. There'll be no clear skies if I lose you, baby." His eyes didn't leave Ayla though who left her glass on a nearby table before disappearing into the shadows. "Just like the clouds my eyes will do the same, if you walk away, everyday, it'll rain, rain, rain."

"Oh, don't just say, don't just say, goodbye, goodbye. Don't just say, don't just say, goodbye, goodbye. I'll pick up these broken pieces 'til I'm bleeding. If that'll make it right."

"'Cause there'll be no sunlight if I lose you, baby. There'll be no clear skies if I lose you, baby. Just like the clouds my eyes will do the same, if you walk away, everyday, it'll rain, rain, rain."

Another song was over as Blaine thanked the crowd and congratulated the happy couple yet again. He stepped off the stage to chase after Ayla, not bothering to tell his friend or his new husband anything so not to disturb them.

When he got close to the exit, he caught sight of Ayla standing in the shadows right by the door that would take her outside. She was as stunning as usual in that black dress of hers. Her arms were wrapped around her side with her face still turned to the party that was taking place before them.

Blaine fought to smile, but could tell by her expression that good news wasn't waiting for them. He had noticed a lot that Ayla was distancing herself from them, but he just couldn't understand why so he was going to get to the bottom of that mystery.

However, Ayla already beat him to the punch with a simple gesture. She held her hand out to Blaine, which he accepted without even the slightest moment of hesitation. "I'm leaving," Ayla said, simply. "I'm going back home to pick up a new assignment. Plus, I kind of want to see my family again…it's been a while."

Now it started to make sense to him. Blaine could barley smile as he nodded his head before wrapping his arms around his favorite drinking buddy. "We're all going to miss you, girl," said Blaine. "Life won't be the same without the most beautiful woman in the entire world driving us homos completely crazy!"

Ayla was just a ball of laughs as she pulled away from Blain for a moment before lightly slapping him across the face. It was a playful slap, one that made even Blaine chuckle as he leaned to kiss her on the cheek.

"Take care of yourself, Blaine," said Ayla. "And tell the boys that I said goodbye."

"And the same thing to you, Ms. Ayla," said Blaine. "Don't be a stranger. You'll always have a chair and a drink waiting for you when you come back."

Ayla accepted the offer as she turned to walk away. She went towards the exit, pausing for a moment as so to reflect on her own journey with the Champion and his friends.

Being in New York with these guys was the most remarkable experience in her life. She had no regrets at all, even the loss of the only man she ever loved wasn't so bad now. She lived a good life in the city, but now it was time for her to move onward to what fate had in store for her next.

So stepping out into the concrete jungle, Ayla said farewell to the city that she had called home for the past two years.

While Blaine returned to the party on a search for Mr. Right or even Mr. Right-Now, but he really was aiming for Mr. Right.

* * *

><p>(Sam)<p>

The rest of the night felt like a blur to him as they finally made it to the last of Blaine's major presents. Well, this was a joint effort from the Anderson clan. They had got the happy couple a room in one of the most expensive hotels in the city, which also had a ridiculously difficult French name that Sam had no idea how to pronounce.

It sounded like "I would like cheese in my omelet", but that wasn't what it really was or meant. At least, that's what Kurt assured him off until they entered the threshold of their room. But Sam stopped Kurt from going any further, instead allow the bellhop to go on ahead of them when a plan boiled up in his head.

Kurt didn't even know what hit him when he was carried bridal style into the hotel room with Sam tossing him onto the bed. Sam's bridegroom laughed as he bounced up from the bed as the bellhop was tipped for his services.

Once the intruder was out and the door was locked, the two exchanged for only a second before Sam pounced. Their lips were immediately interlocked with limbs being wrapped all around each other as they threatened to wrinkle and possibly even tare their suits. So it only made sense for them to remove of all articles of clothing just so that they wouldn't be damaged during the make out secession.

It wasn't quite like their first time. That had been slow and careful, but this was rushed and almost desperate. Sam and Kurt pushed their clothing off of each other, rushed to unbutton every button, unbuckle every buckle, and to unzip every zipper. They tore off the clothes, leaving them forgotten on the ground as they clung onto one another once more.

Kurt pressed his lips against Sam's neck, lightly biting into the flesh to really get Sam excited. He felt the blond's excitement poking at his stomach, which felt even longer and harder than usual. Blushing a little, Kurt pulled Sam down to the bed with his body on top of him as his thinner legs wrapped around the V-cut hips.

Sam slowly began to run his hands through Kurt's hair while staying between that warm body that he loved. But most importantly, he couldn't stop kissing the lips of his husband, the young man he loved more than anything else in this world. Kurt Evans-Hummel was all that mattered to Samuel Evans and it would stay that way for the rest of their lives.

Removing one hand from Kurt's torso, Sam briefly moistened a digit with his saliva before running it around Kurt's tight cavity. Kurt let out a soft whimper as the finger slowly pushed inside of him, which accepted the digit without too much trouble. The desperate cries of Kurt were screaming at Sam to take him now.

Without the superpowers, their love making had become super normal. Kurt didn't mind, he might miss Sam's super strength and flight and stamina at times, but what he loved more was always Sam. The moment where Sam would penetrate him was always the best part of the sex because it always made Kurt's toes curl, his vision go white, and his entire body to tingle with excitement.

But Sam was still strong enough to make things a little exciting for Kurt. His husband lifted Kurt from the mattress until he was on his lap. Kurt was fully impaled on his husband's dick, making his stomach muscles clench as he started to stroke himself to distract the initial wave of pain. That feeling eventually passed though, leaving behind only a wicked, burning lust that made the two attacked each other.

As Sam thrust his hips up and Kurt stroked himself, the married couple shared searing kisses that burnt from their passion. Their bodies clinging against each other as sweat began to stream down their backs. They continued the heated activity until climax reached them both at once. Sam squeezed his eyes shut as he uttered Kurt's name, releasing his seed inside of him. Kurt gave out a breathless gasp with his stomach muscles tightening up and a wicked shiver running around as he spilt himself on Sam's chest and neck.

They fell onto the mattress with Kurt underneath Sam's heavier body with said blond being still inside of his brunet mate. Neither one really seemed to care though as they gasped for air from their first sexual adventure as a married couple.

Sam looked at Kurt's tired face with a smile growing. Kurt was still too starry-eyed to really pay attention but he held onto his husband for dear life. This euphoric moment was the first of many wonderful nights for them both.

"Let's talk about babies," Sam whispered into Kurt's ear. He didn't tell Kurt everything that happened to him in the Spirit Realm. He did tell Kurt of his conversation with his father, sister, Justice, and Kai, but he neglected to inform him of the cryptic message left behind from Kai.

That odd topic caused Kurt to snort with laughter as he finally opened his eyes with arms and legs tied around Sam. "As good as you are, Sam," said Kurt, "I don't think you can put a baby in me. We can try though, but I highly doubt that will happen."

"I know that," laughed Sam. He kissed his blushing husband on the cheek before pulling his softening erection out. He then rolled off of Kurt with his back flat on the mattress. "We'll adopt a couple hundred of kids or something."

"Something like that," said Kurt. "Can we not talk about kids though? We just got married; I want to have you all to myself for a little while at least." He crawled up so that he was now on top of Sam's body and also grabbed onto his wrists for good measure. "Plus, I still have to finish school and then that other Guardian is going to come into town to train me, remember?" Before disappearing, Ayla had sent word to her family who made contact with a group of Guardians. They were sending one of them over to the city so to properly continue Kurt's training. "Can we at least get through that hurdle first? Then we can talk about our adopted African and Asian babies."

Sam chuckled a little bit as he leaned up to kiss Kurt on the lips. He agreed with that proposal as held onto Kurt's body, both of them smiling at once.

After everything that they had been through together, Sam couldn't wait to see what the future had in store for them. Whatever it was, he knew that he'd make it through it because he was facing it with Kurt.

His time as a hero and a Champion was done for, but his journey as a husband and a father was only just beginning.

* * *

><p>END!<p>

Song: "It Will Rain" by Bruno Mars.


End file.
